Feels Like Home to Me
by KMFinchel
Summary: After years of infertility, Finn and Rachel struggle with how to move on.
1. Chapter 1

_**January 2026**_

Rachel watched the timer on her phone. Time passing slowly even though three minutes isn't that long. It chimes. Rachel stood up and crept towards the counter and looked down. NEGATIVE. AGAIN. She felt the tears coming and tried to fight them off. "I'm fine" she says softly. "Don't cry again. You should be used to this." She glanced at herself in the mirror. She doesn't see any joy left in what used to be her vibrant personality. Rachel looked beat down. Tired. Exhausted from six years of trying to have a baby. What a failure. All she and Finn have ever wanted was a few little versions of themselves to love. A boy with messy brown hair and a girl with big brown eyes. Hell even one out of the two would suffice at this point.

All of that seems lost now. This was their last shot. They had both agreed enough was enough. "Unexplained Infertility" the doctors told her. No reason why. No diagnosis. Her body just couldn't do it. Rachel let herself slide down to the floor and the sobs came. Loud, gut wrenching sobs. She broke.

Finn raced up the stairs to the front door. He knows today was test day. He tried calling Rachel in between two houses he was showing, but time got away from him and his clients never gave him a free moment. Finn was hoping that she had waited for him to take it so she wasn't alone. As he opened the front door to the house, he doesn't see or hear her. He knows she is home because her car is in the driveway. "Rachel?" he calls. "Rach? Where are you?" Finn grows concerned and runs up the stairs to their bedroom. He finds her sitting on the bed in tears, knees pulled up to her chest, mascara smeared down her cheeks. "Oh Rach, why didn't you wait for me so we could find out together?"

Rachel just shook her head, "I thought this was really it. I wanted to find out and surprise you when you got home. I was so sure I was pregnant. Why can't I be? Are we not good enough? Am I not good enough? " Her sobs returned. She was shocked she had any tears left.

Finn crawled up onto the bed and took her into his arms. "I don't know Rachel. I don't know what to say anymore".

Finn stared off at the wall. He had run out of things to say. They've been here so many times before. This time is no different. They tried not to get their hopes up but that's almost impossible to do. How can you not get excited about the possibility of a baby? He pulls her closer as they lay down on the bed.

Finn and Rachel stayed in bed until the sun set. No real motivation for getting up, except Finn was getting antsy and needed to eat. He also had a pile of referrals to call back tonight. Life goes on right? That's what he tells himself each and every time.

"Hey Rach, I'm going to go order some pizza and do some work in my office. Are you hungry?"

Rachel just moaned a quiet "no", never moving from her spot on the bed.

Finn sighs. He knows this Rachel. This is the Rachel that will be depressed for weeks or even months after another failed attempt. This Rachel blames herself for not being able to get pregnant, even though the doctors can't tell us why. This Rachel fears Finn will leave her for someone else. Someone who can give him a child. She'll panic every time he's late coming home over the next few weeks or if he gets a call from a strange number. Doesn't she know that he would rather die than be with anyone else? Baby or not he loves her.

He wished he could fix this. Make this situation that has taken over six years of their lives go away. They knew this was their final shot at having a biological child and it failed. They had tried it all; insemination, clomid, and invitro. All failed. All of their embryos were gone. Vanished into a distant memory of the family that could have been. Finn felt exhausted and he knew Rachel was emotionally spent. They had talked about adoption, but almost as a distant thought since they were sure they would get pregnant at some point. Now he's left with a sobbing wife and a situation he's unsure of how to handle.

Finn sat in his office staring at his paperwork while he shoved a slice of pizza in his mouth. His thoughts were elsewhere. He pictured Rachel's face when he first came home, all swollen and red from crying. He had to be strong for them. He was always strong. The finality of all of this finally sunk in. He hadn't let himself be sad because he didn't want Rachel to truly see how hard this was on him too.

As he turns his head back to his computer screen, his eyes stop on their wedding picture propped up on his desk. It was their favorite picture from the wedding. Just a casual shot of her sitting on his lap, both beaming at the camera. They were both so happy and so naïve of what was to come. He remembers how they talked on their wedding night about how they would wait two years and then try for kids. Let themselves get settled before the chaos began. It's now been 8 years since their wedding and he feels defeated by all of this. He finally lets the tears fall out of his eyes and feels some relief.

Later on he crawled back into bed, making sure not to disturb Rachel. She was finally asleep and surely needed some rest. He glanced at the calendar on his phone. Busy day ahead for them both. He and Rachel had house showings tomorrow morning with separate clients. Maybe a busy day is just what they needed. Hopefully she'll feel better in the morning.

Rachel opened her eyes and glanced at the clock. 5:03 am. She felt Finn's body pressed behind her, not remembering when she fell asleep and he came to bed. This is her favorite time of the day. Early mornings had always been their special time. They would chat and snuggle until one of them finally made the other go shower for the day. Relaxed in her bed and not ready to face the reality of the day, she rolled over to face Finn. His mouth was half open and he was gently snoring. He looked like a five year old boy when he slept, all disheveled and baby faced.

Rachel leaned over and placed a light kiss on Finn's lips. Before he even opened his eyes he pulled Rachel in for a tight hug. "Morning" he said.

Rachel just sighed. "Morning." Finn still had his eyes closed but reached his arm up to rub Rachel's thigh.

"I have a dr. apt to confirm what we already know at 8. Then I'm showing two houses to the Millers between 10 and 12. Afterwards I'm looking at a few new listings that came up this week. I don't feel like doing any of it".

Finn rubs his eyes. "Rachel I know. I don't feel like working today either, but we know how we get if we just mope around the house. It's not healthy for us. We can be sad but functional. It's what we do. If we sit around here it will just be worse. Let's make the best of today ok? ".

Finn gave Rachel his usual pep talk like he always does. Except this time there was a giant elephant in the room. Usually they would let themselves be sad but always knew they would try again. It used to be just a temporary feeling until they hit the next cycle and tried again. Where do they go from here? He knows they still want children, but what avenue are they willing to take?

"Hey why don't we make plans tonight? We can order in and I'll watch any girly movie you want. Sound good?"

Rachel gave him a small smile. "Sure. That's sounds nice".

Finn gave her a quick peck on the lips as Rachel headed to the shower. He tried to pretend that she wasn't crying as she stepped into the shower.

Rachel walked into the Dr.'s office to get her blood drawn. She tried not to stare at all of the pregnant women in the waiting room. Rachel knows she's jealous, but she also knows it's not the fault of the other women that she can't get pregnant. Still, she can't bear to look up from her phone as she waits. Just then a text comes through from Finn. _**I just want you to know that I love you**_ _._ Perfect timing as always.

"Rachel Hudson!" the nurse shouted. She began her walk of shame back to the lab. She doesn't even speak to the nurse drawing her blood. After she's done, Rachel raced through the waiting room and ran to her car. She slammed the door, placed her head on the steering wheel, and cried. "That was it. You're done". Everything was so final. Should they try again? Probably not.

As she drove to her first appointment of the day with the Millers, she can't help but reflect on the situation at hand. She and Finn had it all. They owned an adorable house in Cincinnati that most couples would dream of owning. They bought it just after their wedding 8 years ago. 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, and a huge back yard for the kids to play in. Except the kids never came. They now own Hudson Properties as a husband and wife Real Estate team and have been rated one of the top agencies in the Cincinnati area. They're happy. They've always been happy with just a little tug at their hearts reminding them of what's missing.

After Rachel finished showing the Millers the two homes, she drove around the city looking at a few new listings before heading home. As she pulled into the driveway she saw Finn's red truck already parked there. She was glad he was here. She really needed a hug.

Rachel gathered her things and headed into the house. She smiled as she saw Finn in the living room with their Thai takeout set on top of blankets on the living room floor. He had set up an indoor picnic. This used to be a special thing they would do when they needed time together. They hadn't had one in a very long time, especially since their lives started revolving around getting pregnant.

"Hey!" Finn smiled as he saw her walk in. "I thought you could use an indoor picnic tonight. We need to spend some quality time together and I ordered your favorite." Finn knows they need this. They need to refocus and move forward. He just isn't sure what moving forward meant right now.

Rachel smiles back. "You are so sweet. We haven't had an indoor picnic in years". Rachel joined him on the blanket and picked up her dinner. "So how was your day today? How were your meetings?"

"I don't really want to talk about work Rachel. My meetings were fine and I'm sure yours were too. I mean, are we going to talk about Yesterday? Did they call about your blood test?" Finn asked.

Rachel avoids making eye contact with Finn. She hated how he always is ready to talk about this and she wants to pretend it's not happening. As she stared up to the ceiling she replies "Yes. They called on my drive home and confirmed that I am not pregnant. The nurse told me we can make an appointment with the Dr. again if we want to start another round of egg retrieval and start over". At this point she started tearing up because she knows they've discussed this. She knows they agreed to be done. Even the doctors told them that if it didn't work this round that maybe it would be time to explore other options. "It's just….. I don't want to admit this is it you know? How can our dream be over?"

Finn lets out a huge sigh. "Rachel it doesn't have to be over. Maybe it's going to change a little bit, but we can still have a family. I still think we would make kick ass parent's right?" He smiled at her and managed to get a small laugh back. Finn reached across and grabbed her hands. Rachel finally looked him in the eye. "Rachel this part may be over, but there is still a little boy or girl out there who needs a family. Somewhere they are waiting for us. We just have to find them".

Rachel burst into tears. Finn held out his arms as she slowly crawled into his lap. Finn wrapped his arms around her, making her feel safe. Loved. He's right. This sucks but it's not the end. It's not like they never talked about adoption before. It's just never been the ONLY option available. Adoption was always the backup, just never really thought about as the reality. "You are right. Our family may not come to us the conventional way, but we can still have it. ".

She nuzzles into his chest and he rests his head on top of hers, giving her a gentle kiss. "I just want to take some time Finn. I can't deal with any of this right now. I need time to mourn what could have been before I can move onto something else. Do you understand?" she asked.

"Yes. I agree we shouldn't rush into anything else right now. Just let me know when you're ready and we'll go from there. I just love you ok? I don't want to see you hurting anymore. Us hurting anymore. There is joy out there for us somewhere I know it." Finn turned Rachel around to face him once again. "Rachel we will be okay. I know we will. Someday this house will be filled with the kids that we have always wanted". All Rachel could do was nod in agreement.

"Am I a bad person for being sad about the fact that I won't ever see a little version of you running around here?" Rachel asks. "I mean, ever since I met you back in College I have always wanted a little boy who looked just liked you. Quirky smile and all." The tears started to fall again. "I'm sorry. I've cried enough for the both of us over the past six years".

Finn hadn't thought of that. Honestly he was sad about that too. "Rachel I always wanted a little mini version of you that had me wrapped around her little finger. I think it' fine if we are sad about that. We never thought that we wouldn't have that you know? We've made it this far. We can make it through the next steps too. Life has thrown us some major curveballs, but we've managed. "

"Something has to go our way soon right? Years of bad luck have to end sometime. I'd like to give us some time to process all of this and then start pursuing some adoption avenues. "Rachel stopped and stared at Finn, trying to read his face.

"I think that's a great idea" he smiled in return. "In a way I think it's kind of exciting to think that there is a little boy or girl out there just waiting to be loved by us. It's going to be awesome I promise."

Rachel leaned over to give him a soft kiss. She loves this man. He had gotten her through so much and here he is again just always saying the right thing. Rachel had a sense of relief wash over her. The pressure was off of her and her body needing to perform. No more needles, no more tests. Now they can be hopeful towards something new. Something that will most likely happen.

Later that night while Finn lay sleeping next to her, Rachel was restless. Her mind was racing. Finn's words echoed in her mind… "We just have to find them" he said. How do we find them? How do we go about things now? How long will this take? So many questions. It was 1 am and there was no sleep in sight for her.

Giving up on trying to rest, Rachel wandered downstairs to the office and opened her laptop. She knows she should give herself time, but curiosity is getting the best of her. She needed something to distract her right?

She opened up the browser to Google. Rachel reluctantly typed in DOMESTIC ADOPTION OHIO. She and Finn hadn't really discussed which adoption route they would want to take, but you have to start somewhere. The first site that pops up is from the Ohio state Foster Care agency. "Adoption 101-Where do I begin?"

"Well here goes nothing" she sighs. Then she clicks.

 **Thanks so much for reading and welcome to my new story** **I don't own Rachel, Finn, or any glee characters. I do however own future characters to come.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Here is Chapter 2! Once again thank you to Erica for proofing my stuff and giving me advice! Enjoy**!

April 2026

Rachel walked in from work as she felt the weight of the day on her shoulders. She can hear Finn in the distance on the phone in the office. There is just something comforting about hearing his voice that makes her feel secure. As she set her bag down on the counter, she sees a large envelope in the pile of mail that had been scattered by Finn.

 **State of Ohio Foster and Adoption Agency.**

"Oh" she said quietly to herself. She remembered requesting information online a few weeks ago but didn't expect it to get to her this quickly. She and Finn really had not discussed the next step of their parenthood plans in depth. They decided to take some time to focus on their marriage and gain back some of their emotional stability before moving on. Both of them had done some light research on various avenues, but no decisions had been made. Every time one of them brought it up, it was like an awkward conversation they couldn't wait to finish. Rachel was hoping they could change that soon.

Just then Rachel heard Finn emerge from the office and head into the kitchen. "Hey there! Didn't hear you come in!" he said as he leaned in for a kiss.

"Yeah you were on the phone and I didn't want to disturb you. How was your day?" Rachel nervously asked, hoping Finn wouldn't notice the large envelope she held in her hand.

"Not too bad, normal stuff. Glad it's Friday though. You want to go out tonight? We're both actually free until noon tomorrow until the open house."

Finn hoped he and Rachel could have a nice night out. They had slowly worked their way back to normalcy and their sex life no longer revolved around cycles and schedules, and medicine. He started to see glimpses of Rachel when they were newlyweds and carefree. She seemed almost happy these days.

"Actually," Rachel said, "I was hoping we could sit down and talk about this". Rachel reluctantly held out the large envelope from the state and handed it to Finn.

"Oh? Okay," he started, as he took the large folder from Rachel. He had been wondering when they would both feel ready to talk more freely about this. "I actually collected some info on private and international adoption too that we can look at. Let's order pizza and we can talk all night. Wine too?" he winked.

Rachel blew out a sigh. "Yes wine too. I think I'm ready to really dive into this. Are you?"

"Yeah I think we are in a good place now. We didn't rush into things and took our time to sort ourselves out. I feel good about moving forward. It's sort of exciting to know that in some way we will have a little one running around here soon. Well not soon but you know what I mean," he smiled.

Rachel smiled. "I have finally let myself feel sort of excited about the future for once. Yes a lot of it is unknown, but that sort of adds to the drama of it right?" Rachel laughed and Finn rolled his eyes.

"You would enjoy the drama of it. I'm going to order the pizza. Go get changed and we can sit ourselves down for the night."

Rachel headed upstairs to their room. On the way she passed the spare bedroom that was deemed "the nursery" from the day they moved in. All that's in there is her full sized bed from college and some random boxes of holiday decorations that haven't made it down to the basement. As she got changed, she let her mind wander to the possibility that one day someone will occupy that room that will call her mom. She felt her heart flutter a bit. Rachel had avoided any type of thought that would let her mind go to that place for a very long time. She tried to guard her heart from the eventual heartbreak that would come. Now though, she felt a sense of renewal. Hope, even in the tiniest form.

When she returned downstairs, she found Finn had already set up the table and wine had been poured. He had a stack of papers in front of him.

"I went ahead and got all of the information I had read and printed it out. Thought we could use it to reference. Want to open that envelope and read through that until the pizza arrives? I just have to make one more work call and I'm done for the night".

"Sure" she replied. She sat down and took a big sip of wine before tearing open the envelope. With her highlighters and notepad handy, she began to read. There was so much information. Pages and pages and pages of information. That's the thing about adoption in any form. It was and is a lot of work. Paperwork, waiting, paperwork, more waiting. They are used to waiting by now though. It's all they've done for six years. What's a few more months at this point?

Rachel began to read through some of the basics of what would need to be done if they went this route. Classes, home inspections, evaluations, and interviews to name a few. By the time Finn was done and the pizza arrived, Rachel had skimmed through almost all of it.

Finn joined Rachel at the table as they began to make a hefty list of all of their options with pros and cons. "Rachel, I just want to ask again if you even wanted to look into a surrogate. I know in the past you said no, but since we are laying it all out there…. We really can consider everything at this point. What are you feelings?" he asked as he tossed his pen on the table.

Rachel began to tear up as she fiddled with the strings of her sweatpants. Surrogacy was a wonderful thing. Kurt and Blaine had used it two years ago to have their son, Warner. It was so exciting to watch it all happening but at the same time hard. However, deep inside she didn't want to watch someone else have her baby. She wanted to do it herself and wasn't sure if she could handle it. Surrogacy never felt right for her.

"Finn, my feelings haven't changed about this. I know your brother used it with Warner but I just can't do it. I don't want another woman getting to experience what I so desperately tried to do for all of those years. I know this must make me look like such a selfish person because that's probably the only way we will ever have a biological child," her lip trembled a she looked down.

Finn watched as a tear fell down Rachel's face as she stared down at the papers on the table. "Hey. Look at me. You aren't selfish. Your feelings are what they are. I love you no matter what. That's why we are talking this all out right? To make the best decision for us. I think the main goal is that we become parents. How that happens sometimes isn't the point anymore."

"Okay. I just don't want you to resent me for not wanting that Finn. Please don't." Rachel looked up at Finn with a pleading look in her eyes.

"Rachel, stop," he paused. "I could never resent you. I'm fine. We are FINE. Let's put surrogacy off the table for now. Nothing is forever. We both have to feel comfortable with our next step and doing this logically and out in the open will get us there. Now, what do you have next on the list?" Finn continued, ready to move on.

Rachel took a deep breath, "Well I think International Adoption is out right now. Some of the wait times are years long and I just have a feeling that route is not it for us right now. Maybe down the line." Rachel looked up at Finn. He was just stared at her blankly as she waited for him to answer. "Finn? Thoughts?" she asked him.

Finn broke into a smile. "I feel the exact same way. I've done more research on this topic than you have and I agree. It's just not right for us at this time. Maybe we can revisit this in a year or so. I mean I do want 12 kids so we might have to use all of our options at some point," Finn laughed.

Rachel laughed in return and was relieved. At least they were making some actual progress.

"Okay well that leaves us with private adoption or foster to adopt as the other two we agreed to research," Rachel said as she reached for her packet from the state of Ohio and began reading some of it to Finn. She gave her best summary of what it would involve. "Okay first we would have to sign up with the state to be Foster parents. We would then go through an orientation process to decide if we want to proceed. If we do, then we have to take about 30 hours of classes, as well as pass a home study. Once parental rights are terminated and the court process is completed, the children can be adopted. This takes anywhere from 6-18 months."

When she finished she looked up to find Finn looking overwhelmed. Her stomach dropped "What are you thinking? You are giving me such strange looks tonight. Normally I can read you better."

Finn reached across the table and grabbed her hand. "Rach, this is just a lot. It was overwhelming researching it and now even more so that we are trying to make decisions. That just seems like a lot of work. A lot. I wanted to lean more towards private adoption because it seems faster and less messy. I just want us to be careful."

"Finn I know you are cautious and I know we've been through a lot. Just because the adoption would be private doesn't mean it wouldn't be messy. What if the birth mother changes her mind? What if we get picked and take the baby home and she wants it back? I think there are messy situations all around, but won't it be worth it? I need to believe it will be, "Rachel said with tears in her eyes. She tried not to get emotional about this but she couldn't help it. These last few years have felt like they've aged her immensely.

"I know Rachel. I know. This has been hard already and I am just trying to protect us from further heartbreak. I guess it's so unpredictable though. You're right, there is some drama involved isn't there?" he chuckled.

"Finn I just want this so badly. I know you do too. However, I'm glad we are sitting here and starting to sort it all out. Progress is progress you know? We need to be logical even though it's such an emotional thing. There are just so many kids out there without families just being shuffled around from one home to another. Imagine what a difference we can make," Rachel pleaded.

Rachel did feel some relief from this conversation. They both had done research on their own time and had differing opinions on it all. They needed to be on the same page if they were going to go through with this. Now they have it narrowed down to two options.

"That's something to consider. I need a few more days to read stuff over ok?" Finn explained. He can see Rachel leaning towards this and wanted to really be informed if she was pushing for it. "Hey, it's going to happen. One way or another we will have some rug rats destroying our house. I can't wait!" Finn pulled her up from her chair and pulled Rachel in for a hug. As she sat on his lap in his embrace, she nuzzled into his neck.

"I don't think we need to make any decisions tonight, but we did make some headway on things we need to consider. Why don't we clean up and head up to bed?" Rachel asked.

"Hey its early! I'm not ready for sleep. Maybe I'll just hang around down here and get ahead on the open house tomorrow."

Rachel kissed Finn on the lips. "Who said we'll be sleeping?" Rachel winked at Finn and then he understood. He raced to clean up and chased her up the stairs. Neither of them thought about the empty room next door.

 _Rachel woke up around 2 am hearing some sounds downstairs. She turned towards Finn who was fast asleep. Once she realized it wasn't Finn, her heart started to race. What are those sounds? It almost sounded like kids laughing. Finn must have gotten up to watch TV at some point and forgotten to shut it off. Rachel threw the covers off of her body and began to head_ _downstairs. The wooden stairs creaked as she slowly crept down one by one. She could see that the TV was off as she approached the family room. "Hmmm" she thought. Just then she heard shuffling behind her. A chill ran up her spine. Rachel screamed as she turned around to find two small children standing before her._

 _Two children, a boy and a girl, around age 5, were staring back at her but she couldn't quite make out their faces. "Mama," the boy said, "why are you screaming? Come play!" Rachel was floored. Do I have kids? What the hell is going on? She thought about screaming for Finn but she didn't want to scare them. They seemed to know her in some way._

 _"Come on mama! Come!" the little girl shouted and they both started running towards the front door. Rachel rubbed her eyes because she still couldn't see their faces clearly but began running after them._

 _"Kids wait! It's the middle of the night you can't go outside!" Rachel shouted as the two opened the front door and ran down the front steps. She could hear their feet hit the pavement as they landed at the bottom. A sudden urge to protect them washed over her. It's like her body kicked into autopilot._

 _Rachel picked up her pace as she reached the front porch and began to scan the yard for the children. She became frantic screaming "Kids! Where are you?" and she realized she doesn't even know their names. In the distance Rachel heard their cries._

 _"Mama help us! Come get us! HELP!" Their cries were so familiar but so far away now._

 _Rachel could not see them at all and tried to run into the yard but her legs would not move. She began screaming at the top of her lungs "HELP ME! SOMEONE HELP ME AND FIND MY KIDS!" No one came. There was no movement anywhere. Her heart raced faster as she flailed on the front porch unable to move forward._

 _"FINN! HELP ME! OUR BABIES!" "FINNNNNNNN!_

Just then her body began to shake. "Rachel! Rachel wake up!"

Rachel sat up in bed, covered in sweat and began to sob. "Finn our babies. Where are they? Why did they go outside?" she said through her sobs.

"Rachel were you having a bad dream? Honey we don't have any kids. You've been in bed with me the entire time." Finn said as he wiped Rachel's hair out of her face. He hated seeing her like this. She hadn't had a nightmare in a while.

"No! They were so real. They were downstairs and asked me to play and- oh God," Rachel stopped short realizing it was a dream. "I just want it so badly Finn. So badly." Her tears continued to fall. Suddenly she was having trouble breathing and panic spread over her face.

Finn took over. "Rachel you are having a panic attack. Look at me. Deep breaths. Deep breaths. In….out….." he instructed.

Rachel looked him in the eyes as she tried to slow her breathing and calm down. She felt so out of control at this moment. After 30 seconds she was able to start snapping out of her half awake panic attack and was slapped back into reality.

"Oh no Finn. I'm so sorry." Rachel apologized for having woken him up and freaking him out. She used to have dreams like this a lot while they were trying to conceive. Usually those involved a crying infant and an empty crib. Those subsided a few months back once that part of their life came to a close.

Finn laid back down and patted the space next to him. "Come here. Let's just get you to calm down and see if we can't get some sleep".

Rachel complied and snuggled into Finn as she faced him nose to nose. "I love you. I'm sorry I woke you up."

"Hey now, just remember that one day it won't be a dream ok? Just take some deep breaths and close your eyes". Finn reached around Rachel to pull her closer and draped the covers back over her body. He closed his eyes as she kept hers solely focused on him. As he drifted back to sleep she remained awake.

Her thoughts wandered to the room next door. After an hour or so she had wandered to the other bedroom. She laid herself on the spare bed, feeling the cool untouched blanket underneath her body, and let her thoughts wander to the children in her dream. Rachel felt a sense of peace wash over her as she envisioned those same children sitting in this room with her and reading a book before bed. Maybe this nightmare is just what she needed to help guide them to their destiny.

Rachel awoke the next morning to the sun peeking through the sheer drapes over their bedroom window. She rolled over to find the bed empty. The clock read 8 am. Rachel rolled back over. After returning to her room around 5 am, she still had trouble falling back asleep. Mostly she had just laid next to Finn watching him sleep, wondering how he can be so calm through all of this. He was just always able to handle things so well. Always the one with the pep talks instead of freak outs. Rachel closed her eyes and took a deep breath, gearing up for their busy Saturday.

As she walked to the bathroom, she could hear Finn downstairs on the phone. He has worked so hard to provide for them. He takes pride in the fact that they built their Real Estate business from the ground up and its really taken off. The beauty of it was that it was supposed to allow Rachel to stay home for a while once they had kids. Hopefully that's still the case.

Rachel turned on the shower and stepped in, letting the warm water hit her face. She heard Finn come into the bathroom and peek behind the curtain.

"Hey sleepy! You are looking mighty fine this morning," he said as he looks her up and down.

"Hi," Rachel replies with her eyes half open.

"Are you okay? You never sleep this late but I figured you needed it." Finn knows something is up. There is hardly ever a reason that Rachel sleeps past 6 am.

Rachel turned to face him, continuing her shower routine. "I just didn't sleep much last night. After you fell asleep I just couldn't shake my dream. I was up for a while before going back to sleep."

Finn listened intently. He knew something was bothering her. "Okay so what were you thinking about? And you know it's killing me not to jump in that shower with you but we have to be on time today."

"Well how nice of you Finn," Rachel smiled sarcastically. "I was just thinking about how I felt in that dream. It's how I used to feel when I would dream about us having a baby, but this time I can't shake it. I'm starting to see the bigger picture in all of this now."

Rachel finished up in the shower as the conversation continued. Finn having showered earlier began to get dressed.

"So tell me what you are thinking. I can tell you are in hyper Rachel mode where you will obsess over this until it's settled. Let me have it." Finn sat on the bed to give Rachel his full attention.

Rachel walked over, dress on but wet hair wrapped up in a towel on her head, and looked Finn in the eye. "Finn, I somehow feel a connection to our kids. Like the kids that are supposed to be ours. They are out there. I KNOW them somehow. Does that make sense?"

"I can't say I understand that feeling Rachel because I've never felt that way. I think about our future kids but not on a deeper level I guess," he shrugged before continuing. "It makes sense though if that's how you feel. I don't think it's strange if that's what you are afraid of." Finn knew this could be a rocky conversation, especially since as of yesterday he wasn't fully on board with fostering children.

"Okay. I mean, do you think it's possible to love someone before you have ever even met? That's how I feel. That dream shook me to my core. I love these children. These children that will one day sleep in this very house with us and depend on us. I feel it. I know you aren't fully on board, but I think this is what we are meant to do. Ever since we started researching this, foster care always seemed like the most appealing thing to me. The thought of little kids who have had to leave their home and stay with someone else is just heartbreaking. We have so much love to give. So much that it hurts." Rachel looked to Finn for guidance. Acceptance. Anything.

Finn was hesitant. He always thought they would lean towards private adoption. Pick up the baby and leave and never have a second thought about it. He never really thought they would end up with anything but a newborn. Finn wasn't against it, but really didn't think this is what Rachel would lean towards. He was learning a lot about his wife right now.

"You're right. I mean it's not like either of us have a conventional family and we all love and respect each other completely. I hadn't really thought of this being what we would end up doing, but you are right. We will be awesome parents to whomever ends up finding us. I mean I did say 12 kids so maybe we can tell the state we will take some twins and triplets?" Finn had to crack a joke. He had to break the tension he felt pulsating from Rachel's eyes into his.

Rachel cracked a small smile which provided some relief. "Okay. Okay. I don't want to proceed unless you are fully with me on this. I can't have you resenting me down the line if it gets hard. Finn? You need to be honest with me."

Finn looked at Rachel who was staring at him with such worry but determination on her face. "Rach, like I said last night, I could never resent you. This is a journey we never saw ourselves going on, but the fun part is we never know where we will end up in all of this. It's scary but exciting. We can proceed and take it from there. From what we reviewed last night, this is a long process and we can back out if we feel it isn't right for us. We have to start somewhere, so let's get started."

Rachel leaned over and gave Finn the biggest bear hug. She whispered in his ear "I love you so much. So so much." When she pulled away Finn was grinning from ear to ear.

"So we are really doing this huh?" Finn raised his eyebrows looking for some final confirmation from Rachel.

"I would say yes. If you wouldn't mind though, can we keep this between us until we decide if this is truly how we are going to proceed. Our parents don't need more broken dreams of grandkids from us right now. I'd rather it be our little secret." Rachel just really didn't want another reason for people to constantly ask her about children. It's been nice the past few months with conversations that revolved around other things besides their fertility and offspring.

"I think that's a great idea actually. Plus my mom has let up ever since our last failed attempt. She knows not to push it with us right now." Carole was sometimes too invested in their fertility issues. She meant well, but sometimes Finn felt smothered by her constant need for answers where there weren't any available.

"Well this morning has taken a turn that's for sure! Let's get ready for work. We have some houses to sell today!" Rachel felt like she was on cloud 9 right now. Things were going to happen, she was sure of it.

The next morning they hopped in the car to drive two hours to Lima for Warner's second birthday party. Finn and Rachel adored Warner. He had Kurt's DNA but acted completely like Finn as a young boy. Carole constantly commented on how much Warner loved to do everything Finn used to do. It drove Kurt nuts but Blaine found it amusing that Warner loved sports and trucks and everything boy related even at the age of 2.

"Can you believe Warner is two already? I remember the day he was born and we drove to the hospital to see him! Time flies right?" Rachel said, reflecting back on that day. She remembered how she and Finn were in the middle of one of their fertility cycles when he was born. They excitedly had driven to the hospital to see Warner, of course their own situation looming in the back of their minds. Kurt and Blaine were beside themselves with happiness, holding their newborn son in their arms. Finn and Rachel spent a few hours there with them, each holding Warner and wondering if this would be them soon. Two years later they still haven't had the chance to be parents yet, but their perspective on the situation has shifted.

Pretty soon they were pulling up to Kurt and Blaine's in Lima. The driveway was full of cars from their family members and it looked like the party was in full swing. Rachel and Finn walked up to the door and opened it wide.

"Hello!" Finn shouted as he entered the house. Upon seeing Finn, Warner rushed up to him screaming "Uncle Finn up!". Finn reacted by scooping Warner up and throwing him above his head.

"Hey buddy! Happy Birthday!" Finn hugged Warner but soon Rachel is grabbing for him and has him in her arms.

"Happy Birthday Warner! How old are you now?" Rachel asked.

"I two!" Warner replied, desperately trying to hold just two of his little fingers up. Warner was the spitting image of Kurt with just a hint of curl to his hair. He was spoiled rotten as the only grandchild and received 100% of everyone's attention whenever they were around him.

As Rachel put Warner down, Carole and Burt appeared into the foyer. "Hey you two! We didn't hear you come in!" Carole explained as she opened her arms pulling Finn in for a hug.

"How could you not hear the screaming from these boys?" Rachel laughed as she gave Burt a squeeze. "So should we head into the living room and see what the birthday boy is up to?"

The party was just family and was perfect. Warner absolutely loved the football jersey Finn and Rachel bought him and insisted on putting it on over his nice khaki's and button down shirt. Kurt was not pleased but he can't say no to his little boy. Once dressed he immediately found his new football Burt and Carole bought him and ran up to Finn. "Finn play! Please!" as he held up the football in the air.

"Sure thing Warner! Are you ready? Hike!" Finn called out to Warner. Warner threw the ball to Finn and then ran over to tackle him. Finn faked his fall to the ground and dropped the ball so Warner could pick it up. Warner screamed "FUMBLE! FUMBLE FINN!" Warner ran around the room as everyone clapped for him. As he neared Finn again, Finn picked him up and gave him a huge hug. "Happy Birthday buddy!"

Rachel watched all of this from afar and her heart swelled. Finn was so good with Warner and she could finally see a glimpse of their future without feeling sad. Maybe Finn will have the chance to teach their own son how to play sports or coach their daughter's soccer team.

"Okay everyone! Time to sing Happy Birthday!" Blaine said. Everyone gathered around as Kurt placed Warner into his high chair. After Warner blew out the candles, Kurt asked that he be changed into a different shirt so he didn't get cake on his new Jersey. Blaine quickly left the room and returned to change Warner into his new shirt. Carole was the first to notice the writing.

"Oh my god! Does his shirt say big brother?" Carole screamed as she ran over to hug Kurt and Blaine.

"Yes it does", Kurt chuckled, "Our surrogate is pregnant again and is due in October. Warner is going to be a big brother!"

Finn stood next to Rachel and reached down for her hand. He took her hand in his and gave it a big squeeze, all while smiling at Kurt and Blaine. Rachel did the same, with a slight tear in her eye. Partially from happiness, and partially from jealousy. It still hurts sometimes, seeing others rejoicing while you are still in pain.

The room then got quiet as people started to glance at Finn and Rachel. Somehow their situation was forgotten in the excitement. Now there was awkward silence. Finn decided to break the tension. "Congratulations you two. Warner is going to be such a great big brother right buddy?" Finn reached down to pick Warner up and give him a high five. Warner held up his small hand to smack Finn's, oblivious to what was really going on.

Rachel walked over to Kurt and Blaine and reached out to pull them in for a hug. "Congratulations you two. I hope it's a girl this time for me to spoil," she said as she smiled. As she pulled away she felt the emotions overcome her and knew she needed to get out of there right away. She hated that this still happened, hated that it still affected her so much. She thought she was moving on but I guess the emotions are just always lingering just beneath the surface of her tough exterior.

Rachel quickly snuck upstairs to the nearest bathroom and shut the door behind her. She didn't want anyone to see her upset. She can't ruin the moment for Kurt and Blaine. It's not their fault she was infertile. She leaned against the door and tilted her head into the air as she took a deep breathe. "Pull it together Rachel" she thought to herself. She was thrilled to have a new niece or nephew. Why can't she just be fully happy for them?

Rachel jumped as she heard a light knock at the door. "Rach? You in there? Are you ok?" It was Finn. Thank god. Rachel opened the door quickly to usher him in and closed the door behind him pushing the lock.

"Hey, what's going on? Are you upset about the baby?" he asked as he brushed a tear from her cheek.

"Yes. I mean no. I don't know. I just can't control myself sometimes. I'm selfish. I hope no one saw me rush up here. I just felt myself losing it and didn't want to take away from their moment." Rachel looked up at Finn searching for some comfort.

"It's okay to feel that way Rachel. They know you are happy for them. They know how much we adore Warner like he was our own. Even though we are moving on it's still going to sting sometimes. Healing takes a while. All of those years were traumatic in a way you know?" Finn tried to calm Rachel down and watched as her cries slowed.

Rachel wiped her eyes carefully as to not mess up her make up. "Okay. Thank You. I just wish I was just fine with everything. I still feel so lost at times."

"Hey you never know. By the time their baby is born we could be parents too." Finn looked down at her and smiled, gaining a similar smirk from Rachel.

"Well when you put it that way it doesn't seem so far away anymore."

Finn and Rachel both went back downstairs. No one seemed to notice they were missing as they were now watching Warner attempt to eat his cake on his own using a fork and failing miserably at times. Carole was snapping pictures and Burt was videoing as Kurt and Blaine watched him from either side. Finn and Rachel joined the crowd and Finn pulled Rachel into his side and kissed the top of her head. Things were looking up.

 **Reviews are welcome! Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello! Here is the next installment of this story. I'm doing my best researching this so I apologize if things seem off with the legal aspect of Foster Care. Thanks to Erica for proofing for me! Enjoy!**

 **May 2026**

Finn tipped his head back to take a swig of his beer as he watched a late night baseball game on TV. Rachel had long been in bed but he was restless and decided to stay up a tad later. To be honest these past 8 weeks have been a whirlwind. Ever since he and Rachel decided to move forward in the Foster Care System they've been engulfed in the process.

First they met with their caseworker, Mrs. Kent, to have an initial meeting and review the process. Rachel had been very good about ensuring Finn was well informed. Finn had embraced this once they had decided to move forward, but they both told each other that they could stop at any point if it became something they no longer wanted to do. However, Finn found that the more informed he became, the more he too was drawn to Fostering children to eventually adopt them. He spent many nights at his computer reading about success stories from Foster Children who were later adopted.

After they met with their caseworker, they had to have a background check and references. This step they knew was a no brainer and they would easily pass. They both have a squeaky clean past as well as an abundance of personal and professional references to vouch for them. Mrs. Kent told them they looked perfect on paper, but that wasn't all that was considered. The background check was the quickest and easiest step by far.

Finn and Rachel had to complete over 30 hours of classes that varied from parenting, behavior issues, and legal information. Every spare moment they had during the week or weekend was spend at these classes. Although they were busy, this really helped them channel all of their conversations towards analyzing their situation.

The hardest class by far was learning how to deal with possible behaviors that can occur with kids in Foster Care. Of course they are traumatized by being removed from their parents care, no matter how horrible the situation. It would be Finn and Rachel's job to help them work through this, even if it meant they would eventually go back to those same parents. Reunification was priority in Foster Care. Yes, they wanted to adopt, but not all kids in Foster Care are eligible. They had discussed this at length but ultimately they both want to help kids. All kids deserve to be loved and nurtured. They had to be ready for what could possibly happen though. It wasn't going to be a walk in the park.

 _After their final behavior class, Rachel sat Finn down at the table once they arrived home. "You know, if you have any hesitations at all, we don't have to do this."_

 _Finn had thought long and hard about this. He knew Rachel would give him an out if he wanted one. The more educated he became though, the more he wanted to move forward._

" _No. I don't have any hesitations. We have a great home with love to spare, and I think helping kids without a place to go is just the right thing for us right now."_

 _Rachel beamed at his answer. "I love you so much."_

The home inspections occurred while they were taking their courses. The first one was to analyze their house and tell them what they needed to do to get their house ready and approved. They had to have beds and bedrooms for each child. A child over the age of 6 could not share a room. Rachel took this part very seriously.

 _Rachel walked into the bedroom next to theirs. This bedroom that has been waiting all of these years to be used. She made sure to buy neutral things, not knowing if a boy or a girl would ever live in this room. She unfolded the light green comforter to lay out on the bed. They had added a bookshelf with a variety of children's books, most of them favorites from her childhood. She had hung a picture above the bed that read "You are Loved", because whoever sleeps in this room will be._

 _The room across the hall was also prepared. It had a twin bed and room for a crib if they needed one. The comforter on that bed was a pale blue with a matching white and pale blue striped rug on the floor. There was a taller bookcase in this room filled with books from Finn's childhood and a rocking chair in the corner._

 _Rachel kept the two rooms simple and understated to allow the kids the ability to individualize them how they wanted. They had no idea how old the kids would be, but they had told the agency they would take as old as 10 and as young as a newborn._

 _Each night she would spend a little time in each room, allowing herself to close her eyes and hope for the future again. It's something she hadn't allowed herself to do for quite some time._

The next two visits were to see if they had followed through with the criteria of an approved home. This is where Rachel's obsessiveness came in handy because the house was of course ready by visit number 2. Visit 3 ended up being a formality for Mrs. Kent which they happily agreed to.

Now they wait. Mrs. Kent had completed their file and sent it off for them to become licensed Foster Care parents. They felt ready. It was a little weird to Finn how their lives had taken such a drastic turn, but he no longer felt reserved about it. Rachel had surprised him in so many ways during this entire process. She really was assertive and headstrong during this, but mostly because she felt like she was somewhat in control. Unlike their fertility cycles, Rachel could take charge and feel like she could cross everything off their list and know that the end was in sight. The waiting was just all part of the process, no uncertainty was looming.

Finn was shaken from his thoughts as Rachel tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey. It's late. Are you okay? Come to bed." Rachel held out her hand to Finn as he sat with his legs outstretched across the sofa.

Finn grabbed Rachel's hand and pulled her down on top of him so their faces were just inches apart. "I couldn't sleep. Too much on my mind." Finn leans up and kissed Rachel on her forehead.

Rachel laid her head on Finn's chest with her body outstretched. Even laying like this, her feet barely hit his shins. She always felt protected by him, as he wrapped his arms around her back. "I know. These past two months have been crazy. We've been running non-stop since we decided to move forward. I think it's been good though. We've learned so much about Foster Care, and each other. "

Finn rubbed his fingers through Rachel's hair as he listened to her speak. She was right. They have come so far in these past two months. After a few moments of silence Finn speaks up. "I know Rach. This is all crazy, but maybe this is what we were meant to do. Not that I wanted us to go through all of those years of heartbreak, but now it feels like maybe there was a greater plan for us. I don't think we would have ever thought about doing this otherwise. Life is funny that way."

Upon hearing this Rachel pushes herself up and pulled her legs around so she was straddling Finn. "I couldn't agree more," she smiled. "I mean I never pictured us doing this. Ever. But as we've gone through this process we've grown in so many ways. I'm so ready for what's next." Rachel leaned over to give Finn soft kiss on the lips.

"Me too. I'm ready to get everything going. We've worked really hard for this and I just hope we can help some kids out who need it." Finn was proud of them. They were starting to resemble the couple they once were before all of their problems happened. They were happy again.

Hey," Finn paused, "since everyone is coming over this weekend for Memorial Day, do you think we can tell people what's going on now? I think we should tell them now versus just calling them up one day to tell them we have a few kids running around right? Your dads will freak out and my mom will never forgive me." Finn started to laugh at the thought of what those phone calls would be like.

Rachel rolled her eyes knowing Finn was right. "Yes let's tell them at our barbecue this weekend. That way everyone finds out at once and no one gets offended that the others knew a few minutes before."

Everyone in their family wanted to be the first to know things, which resulted in everything being announced in group settings now. It became a Hudson/Hummel/Berry thing now. New baby? Announce it at a gathering. Job promotion? Announce it at Christmas. This is how everything went down now. It really made functions without an announcement pretty boring.

Finn smiled in agreement. "Awesome!" he shouted. "Okay let's head up to bed. Honestly with you straddling me like this I can't focus on anything else right now and if you don't move I might just have my way with you." Finn gripped the waistband of Rachel's pajama pants tightly as she squealed. Neither of them stopped to look in the empty bedrooms as they ran to their bed.

The next morning Finn was working in his office as he heard Rachel in the kitchen preparing some food for the day. Their entire family would be here in a few hours for the Memorial Day barbecue, as well as some of their friends they hadn't seen in a while. Between the business and all of their fertility stuff going on, Finn and Rachel had sort of closed themselves off from everyone. Sometimes it was just too hard to deal with everyone as they watched others' lives progress while theirs was at a standstill for so many years.

Rachel went out to get the mail before the party started. To her surprise there was an envelope from the state addressed to both of them. It took her a moment to realize what it really was. At that instant she went tearing back into the house to show Finn.

"FINN! It's here!" she screamed which caused Finn to come running.

"What is it?" he replied, expecting some huge package to be sitting in living room.

"Our license Finn! Our license to make us Foster Parents. We did it!" Rachel was beaming. All of their hard work over the past two months has led to this piece of paper. "This is so perfect because when we tell everyone today it's truly an official thing!"

"Wow," Finn said, taking a deep breath as he looked down at the envelope. Here it is. We can move forward and things are going to start happening. At that moment he felt overcome with emotion and grabbed Rachel to pull her in for a hug. "I'm really excited Rach."

Rachel returned the sentiment with a tight squeeze. "Me too. I really feel this is right for us. Now I'll be obsessed about the phone ringing," she laughed. Finn knew how badly Rachel wanted all of this to happen and just fall into place. He could only hope that it would be an easy transition.

A few hours later the barbecue was in full swing. Rachel's dad's and Finn's parents arrived first as they usually do. They were never late to anything, no matter how minute the occasion.

Next to arrive were Kurt and Blaine with Warner in tow. He quickly began running around the backyard with his football begging Finn to play with him. Finn happily joined him as the other guests arrived.

Their friends showed up last as usual. Puck and Quinn came in with their daughter Ashley, who is 4. Puck is an agent with their company so they see them fairly often and Ashley is a spitfire just like Puck. They had moved to Cincinnati when Quinn got a job as a journalist for the Cincinnati Chronicle five years ago. All of their other friends are now scattered in various places across the US. They try to get together once a year but as they get older and their families grow, it gets harder and harder to make that happen.

Ashley quickly joined Warner out in the yard, opening up the packages of bubbles Rachel had set out for the kids. She always made sure the kids had plenty to do so the adults could eat and not worry about having to entertain the little ones. Finn and Puck were in charge of grilling the food while everyone else hung out on the deck and chatted.

"Hey Puck, hand me those burgers on that table to throw on the grill will ya?" Finn shouted at Puck.

"Geez Finn! Could you ask me nicely next time?" Puck laughed as Finn threw a napkin at him. "Oh wow I'm scared now," he answered sarcastically. "Hey where have you two been by the way? We haven't seen you in a long ass time!"

Finn didn't want to tell Puck yet as he and Rachel were going to announce their new plans at dinner in a short while. He took a deep breath, keeping his eye on the grill. "Oh you know, super busy with the company right now. As you know this is our busiest season for house sales in Ohio. Nice weather brings out the home buyers! By the way, nice job on the sale of that house on Jacob St.!" Finn hoped he could change the subject, which with Puck was easy if you wanted him to brag about himself.

"Oh thanks man! That was on the market a while but I'm glad I could get it off our hands! The sellers were thrilled! You know Puck always gets the job done man!" Puck smirked at Finn to which Finn rolled his eyes.

"Haha. Very funny. I'm sure Quinn will be so happy that you're still making sexual references about yourself. Now let's get this cooked before the natives get restless." Finn and Puck continued to cook the food and soon enough Rachel was setting up the table for everyone to eat.

Everyone filled their plates and grabbed seats at the tables set up on the deck. Warner was napping, but everyone else was ready to eat. It was a beautiful May day. Clear skies, not too humid. Once everyone was settled in, Finn squeezed Rachel's hand under the table to grab her attention. Rachel looked up at Finn questioning him. "What do you need hon?"

Finn whispers, "Are you ready? I need to announce this before I burst."

"Oh," Rachel paused as she looked at him out of the corner of her eyes. "Yeah. Yes let's tell them. . Why am I so nervous?"

Kurt notices their conversation and chimes in. "Hey you two! What are you whispering about over there?"

Finn looks at Rachel and smiles. They both stand up together, hands still held together.

"OH an announcement! YAY!" Carole looks up at them clapping quickly.

"Yes MOM," Finn says sarcastically. "Rachel and I do have something to announce." Rachel leans into his side and smiles.

"OMG you are pregnant! I knew it!" Hiram shouted.

Rachel's smile fell. "No. No dad I'm not pregnant." There was an awkward silence at the table. Rachel could feel a lump in her throat form but was fighting it hard. She pushed back the few tears that had managed to pool in her eyes.

Finn continued "No, we are not expecting in that sense. Rachel and I have spent a lot of time and energy over the past two months working towards starting a family in another way. As of today we are officially licensed Foster parents. We are going to try to adopt through the Ohio State Foster Care system.

Rachel and Finn had both been expecting some sort of reaction. Clapping maybe? Shouts of joy? Instead they were met with blank stares from the crowd.

Burt was the first to speak up. "Are you guys sure this is what you want? Foster kids can be a real problem." Rachel's mouth fell open and she felt Finn squeeze her side tighter.

"Yes Burt. We are sure. We've spent a lot of time researching, taking classes, and making SURE we want to do this." Finn stood up straighter to get his point across. "We didn't tell anyone because we wanted to make sure we were going through with it so no one got too excited. Now I can see that wasn't what we had to worry about."

Carole looked up at Finn from her seat. "I think what Burt means is Foster Care is a hard road Finn. We don't want to see you two get hurt."

Kurt, Blaine, Quinn, and Puck all just sat there in uncomfortable silence. Ashley began to fidget and spilled her entire drink all over her dress. "Oh my. I guess we need to clean you up!" Quinn said as she scooped up Ashley to bring her inside to change. Blaine kept looking at the baby monitor hoping Warner was up so he could excuse himself from this awkward situation.

LeRoy broke the silence "I'm with Burt and Carole. Is this really the best idea? What about private adoption? Or a surrogate? You can use Kurt and Blaine's agency!"

The lump in Rachel's throat became too big to ignore. The tears began spilling from her eyes before she opened her mouth. "ENOUGH!" she shouted choking back a sob. "Honestly, this is no one's decision but mine and Finn's. I'm sorry if none of you support it, but this is something we feel strongly about. Does it matter if our kids have our DNA? Look around! ALL of you should know that it doesn't. If none of you want to be supportive then fine. We can do this alone. It's our life and the rest of you can just get over yourselves!"

Everyone looked at Rachel wide eyed as they realized the ramifications of their reactions to the news, or lack thereof. Finn continued to stand next to Rachel, rubbing small circles on her lower back to soothe her. A few seconds passed before Rachel began to squirm from Finn's grip and ran into the house.

"Finn, I'm sorry I-," Carole tried to apologize to Finn.

"Mom NO. Just no right now. I have to go take care of my sobbing wife. Finish eating." Finn stormed through the sliding glass door into the house to see Quinn and Ashley coming out of the downstairs bathroom. Quinn said nothing, just pointed to the upstairs. Finn ran to Rachel, taking two steps at a time.

He found Rachel sitting on their bed, facing the wall. Her shoulders shuttering up and down with her silent sobs. Finn walked up to sit beside her on the bed.

"So that didn't go how we imagined it huh?" Finn said as he reached over and rubbed Rachel's back. "They just don't understand everything. We have educated ourselves and they don't know what we know." Finn was trying desperately to justify the actions of their parents but was finding it hard to do so.

Rachel turned her body toward Finn, folding one leg underneath her body. She looked at him with her swollen eyes, mascara streaming down her face. "I don't want them to view our kids as "problems". Don't they have faith in us?"

Just then there was a knock at the door. "Rachel?" Carole said in a calm but quiet voice. "Rachel can I please talk to you?"

Rachel looked at Finn and gave a small nod. Finn opened the door as Carole reluctantly walked in.

Carole took Finn's place beside Rachel on the bed. Rachel still cried as she looked down at the floor. Carole took Rachel's hands in hers as she spoke. "Rachel, I want to apologize. All of us do. This just really took us by surprise and bottom line is we don't want you guys to get hurt again. We know you've been through a lot and I think all of us just want to save you from any future heartbreak. You know we will love any grandchild of ours to the moon and back and spoil them rotten." Carole became teary as she reached over to give Rachel a hug.

"Thank you Carole," Rachel replied. "Finn and I are taking this seriously. We have spent two months preparing for this and didn't want to tell you guys until it was all finalized. This is real for us. This is how we want to start our family now. "

Finn cracked a smile as he watched Rachel talk to his mom. She still managed to be so strong even though she's emotionally spent at times. These past two months have really made her a stronger woman he thinks. Rachel definitely feels like she is in control of her life again.

"Well I'm guessing the rest of the group is waiting downstairs for us?" Finn asked, knowing that they all had a discussion at the table after they had retreated. Carole laughed and nodded and all three made their way back to the party.

As soon as Rachel got to the bottom of the stairs, Quinn rushed up to give her a hug. "We are so excited for you! Ashley can't wait to have some new best friends to play with around here!" Quinn pulled away and Hiram held out his arms.

"Rachel we didn't mean any harm. We had no idea you two were considering this but we will support you guys with whatever happens. You know we don't care if the child is yours biologically or not. We just knew that is what you and Finn had tried so hard for and were shocked you were giving up on that." Hiram looked to Finn, hoping he had something to add to their statement.

"We aren't giving up on that. Maybe it will happen one day. We just decided to move in a different direction for now. We've learned there are so many kids out there who need stability and love and we know we can provide that." Rachel watched Finn explain their situation to their families and began to feel calmer. She stood next to Finn, arms crossed and heart guarded. She never imagined that this is how today would have gone. Thank god for Finn. He always had a way with getting everyone to settle down when a situation became heated.

"Well any kid that gets to come live with you two will be the luckiest kid around. You guys are so great with Warner and he can't wait to have some cousins to play with!" Kurt reached out to give each of them a hug.

"Thank you," Rachel whispered under her breath. "How about we go finish dinner before it gets dark?" Rachel led the way as they all followed her back outside to their seats.

Puck and Quinn had made a quick exit after dinner when Ashley had another meltdown. Ashley trailing behind them as she rambled on about Warner stealing her bubbles. "He's only two honey," Quinn says trying to calm Ashley down. "He doesn't know how to share all of the time like you because you're a big girl".

Finn and Rachel both laughed overhearing this conversation. As Puck passes Finn, he gave him a firm handshake. "Hey man, I'm really happy for you guys. I hope it all works out."

"Me too Puck. Thanks! See you at the office on Tuesday! Enjoy your day off!" Finn closed the door as the family exited.

Everyone else was hanging around enjoying the night, Warner finally up and playing on the back deck as the adults conversed. The mood seemed to calm down a bit as dessert was served the family became more comfortable with asking questions about the Foster care system.

"So," Carole began, "When will you know if you are getting a child? Did you put any preferences down?" she asked.

"Well, we said we would take any child from birth to 10. No other preferences really. I mean, we'd love a newborn, but I think we are just ready to see what our fate has in store. We are ready." Rachel looked up at her family, all of them listening intently to her words.

"Yeah, we knew if we opened up our age range a bit we would probably get a placement faster. I know most of you think we have no business having a 10 year old in the house, but we've studied hard and know what resources are available to us if we get an older child," Finn added.

Rachel took a deep breathe, crossing her arms across her chest. "We actually wanted to ask all of you if you would be willing to become certified in CPR and First aid. In order to babysit or be left alone with any of our kids before or if they are adopted, you have to be certified and approved by our agency. We would love for you all to do it but understand if you aren't comfortable."

The crowd then broke out into a fit of "Of course!" and "We'd love to!" Everyone took turns hugging Finn and Rachel, congratulating them and wishing them luck. The tension at the table subsided and the chatter continued as the two explained the rest of the process of how to be a Foster parent.

Rachel and Finn spent the night side by side on the deck. Finn didn't want to wander too far in case conversations turned negative again, but that turned out not to be the case. Everyone now seemed genuinely interested

Blaine was out in the yard with Warner running around playing catch. That kid couldn't get enough. Rachel let her mind wander slightly, imagining her own kids at this barbecue next year. A smile cracked across her face thinking about Finn out in the yard playing football with a little boy of their own.

Rachel is jolted from her thoughts as her dads announce they are leaving. She hugged them goodbye, followed by Carole and Burt. They all give one more apology before they leave and Rachel promises to email them the information on becoming CPR certified.

30 minutes later Kurt and Blaine headed out the door with a passed out Warner on Blaine's shoulder. "Bye buddy," Finn says as he kisses Warner's forehead.

He turned around to see Rachel standing in the foyer sobbing. "Hey wait! What happened? Are you sad they left or something?" Finn honestly had no idea why she was crying now.

"No," Rachel answered. "I just wanted tonight to go well and it didn't and I don't want people second guessing what we want to do. Why is this such a big deal? I thought everyone would be excited for us." Rachel sniffled through her words as she reflected on the night's earlier events. "I feel like we are doing what's right for us. Do you?"

Finn walked forward to pull Rachel in for a hug. This seemed to be a common theme for today. "We are doing what we want to do. It doesn't matter what they think. They seemed to come around after we talked to them more about it. All they know about Foster care is from the horror stories they see on the news or in movies. It's not always like that. Didn't we learn all about that in our classes? We know what we are doing. Don't let other people's reactions make you waiver on that. Plus, now that we are licensed we can get a call any day."

Rachel used Finn's shirt to wipe away the tears on her cheeks. "Yeah, I'm sure we just shocked them that's all. I just want this all to go perfectly. Plus, we'll need the support if things get tough. Sometimes I still feel like such a failure."

Finn pulled back to look Rachel in the eye. "Rachel you are not a failure. You are amazing. I never ever look at you like you've failed at this. We've tried. Both of us have been committed to having a family for six years. Once we have a family, this will all seem like a distant memory ok?"

Rachel sniffled a few more times. "Okay. I love you."

"Why don't you head up to bed and I'll clean up quickly outside. We can finish the rest in the morning."

Rachel shook her head in agreement and headed up the stairs.

A short while later Finn had finished cleaning up the deck and headed upstairs to their bedroom. This night had exhausted him and he couldn't wait to lay his head on his pillow. As he passed the bedroom across the hall, he saw Rachel sitting in the rocking chair staring out the window.

Finn walked in and Rachel turned as she heard his footsteps creak on the hardwood floor.

"Hey, you cleaned up already?" she asked.

"Yes, everything is okay until tomorrow. Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm okay. I just like to sit in these rooms sometimes. These empty rooms used to bring me heartache, but now they have a new meaning." Rachel stood up and grabbed Finn's hand and began walking towards their bedroom. They stopped quickly to look in the room next to theirs.

"You've done a really great job with these rooms. Any kid will be happy to stay in here."

"Finn, I'm a little scared. Just a little. It's real now." Rachel leaned on Finn's shoulder as they both continued to look into the bedroom.

"I'm a little scared too Rach. I think that's good though. It means we are excited but serious about it. I would be worried if we weren't."

Rachel didn't even reply. He was right and he knew she agreed.

"Let's head to bed ok? We've had a long night. You never know, the phone could ring tomorrow." Finn pulled Rachel's hand and led her to the room. They both went to sleep exhausted but anxious for the future.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello to anyone who is reading this story! Thank you for all of your feedback and reviews! I love hearing them! Thank you to Erica who always proofreads all of my stuff and gives me honest feedback before I post! I don't own Glee but I do own the kiddos in this story. Enjoy!**

 **June 2026**

Zack stood behind his mother in the checkout line. Lainey bounced behind him poking his sides. "Stop Lainey! Mom's going to get mad!" he scowled. Lainey stuck her tongue out at her older brother.

His mom glanced back at the two kids behind her as she placed all of the groceries up onto the counter to be scanned. "Be quiet you two! We're almost done here," she said. Zack noticed the tears forming in her eyes as she looked down on them. He didn't think they were acting so bad to make her cry. "Mom, why are you crying?" he asked. "Mom?"

His mother looked away as the woman at the counter told her the total. "That will be $20.54."

Once again his mother looked down at them with tears in her eyes and then looked in her purse. "Oh shoot! I forgot my wallet in the car", she says, flustered by her own words. "Can I go get it and come back to pay?"

The cashier looked annoyed. "Yes you can. I'll save your order right here. Just come back to this register."

"Oh don't worry. I'll be right back. Kids you stay here next to the cart. I parked far and it's raining." His mother patted the cart to indicate to him that she wanted him to stand right there.

Zack nodded and held onto Lainey's hand. Their mother learned down to give each of them a kiss on their foreheads. "I'll be right back."

Their mother started to walk away when the cashier realized she was leaving her two small children inside of the store alone. "Ma'am! Excuse me!" she shouted. "You can't leave your kids in here unattended!"

Zack began to panic. He didn't want his mom to get in trouble again. "Mom! Mom just take us with you!" He knew better than to leave the cart, but he couldn't help but notice her run faster as he screamed.

He turned to the cashier. "She'll be right back. She's just being a good mom and doesn't want us to get wet." Zack clung to Lainey's hand tighter to make sure she didn't run off.

The woman kept glancing at the door and then back down to the kids. "Okay kids, why don't you sit over here on this bench next to your cart until your mom comes back in to pay ok?" The cashier ushered them over to the bench and they sat quietly watching the door.

Ten minutes later the two were still watching the door as the manager began speaking to the cashier. They murmured under their breath while peering at the kids.

"Zack where's mommy?" Lainey asked. "She's been gone a long time. Is she in trouble?"

"She's coming back Lainey! Stop being such a baby!" Zack was the big brother. He was in charge when mom wasn't around and right now Lainey was making it worse.

"I'm not a baby Zack!" she replied angrily.

The manager of the store walks over to the kids, Lainey now had tears forming in her own eyes. "Hi you two! Can you tell me your names and how old you are?"

"Why?" Zack replied.

The manager was taken aback by the directness of the boy's answer. Most kids had no issues saying their name or how old they were.

"Well, I'm just trying to help you out so we can find your mom." The manager sat himself on the bench next to Zack. Lainey pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.

"I'm Zachary and I'm 7. She's Elaine and she's 4," Zack whispered quietly to the man.

"Great. Do you have a last name? And what's your mom's name?" The man had a concerned look on his face. Zack knew that face all too well.

"Our mom's name is Julie. Our last name is Miller. We don't have a dad." Zack began to feel overwhelmed. "She's coming back. She always comes back. Please don't call the police," he pleaded.

"Well let's give her a few more minutes but after that I need to call someone to come help you ok? Do you have a phone number or an address we can reach her at?" The manager kept asking questions hoping to solve this mystery. He's worked at this location for 10 years and never had an incident of children being left at the store.

"My mom doesn't have a phone," he answered as eyes stared at his weathered shoes on his feet. "We live at the Budget Motel right now. I don't know the address."

The manager furrowed his brow." Can you two sit here for a minute while I tell the cashier something?" Both Zack and Lainey nodded to the man, not wanting to draw any more attention to themselves.

Just then Lainey began to cry. "Shhh Lainey! They'll call the police if we aren't quiet! Do you want to go away again?" Zack knew Lainey would freak out. She hates being away from mom.

Lainey began to quiet down, swallowing her sobs as she sat next to her big brother. The two sat in silence as the manager kept checking on them. He even brought them a bag of goldfish crackers and a chocolate milk to drink while they waited.

Zack could see it was starting to get dark out. Why did she have to leave them again? She must be coming back. Maybe her wallet was at the motel and she went to go get it and the car broke down?

Just then Zack spotted two Police officers out of the corner of his eye. No. Not again. Zack grabbed Lainey's arm and yelled "RUN" as he pulled her off of the bench and began to run towards the side door of the store. The officers began to run after them. Zack picked up the pace and headed for the door. If they could make it outside then maybe mom would be out there waiting. But Lainey tripped. Zack turned around to help her up when the officers caught up to them and scooped them both up.

"NOOOOOOO! LET ME GO! SHE'S COMING BACK! DON'T TAKE US!" Zack screamed as he flailed in the officer's arms. Lainey stared back at him as her silent tears fell.

Shoppers began to stop and stare at the scene that was unfolding. "Those poor children," one of them whispered.

Zack continued to shout as the officer carried him out of the store. "MOM! You have to come get us! Mom! They are taking us away!" he shouted frantically scanning the parking lot for any sign of her. Nothing. Just the horrified stares from people in the parking lot. Lainey's sobs echoed behind his screams as they were placed into the back of the police car.

* * *

It had been two weeks since Rachel and Finn had made the announcement to their families about becoming foster parents. Slowly everyone was warming up to the idea. Both Rachel and Finn had fielded phone calls from their parents asking more questions. Once they learned about the bigger picture they all became more supportive of their decision. They even had their CPR classes scheduled so they could babysit if needed. The tension had lifted slightly and they both felt relieved.

It was early Sunday evening. The two had finished a busy weekend of house showings since summer is their busiest time. Finn was in his office as usual, wrapping up the weekend business. Their company really was a 7 day a week job these days. Although they have a main office downtown, Finn likes to work from home a lot so the two can spend time together. Rachel isn't nearly as busy as Finn and she also loved helping him out when she could.

Rachel jumped when she heard the phone ring as she was placing the last dish away in the cabinet. She rushed to answer it, figuring it was her father's again to ask more questions.

"Hello?" Rachel answered.

"Mrs. Hudson? Hi, this is Ms. Kent. Sorry to call you so late but I have a possible placement for you and I need to talk to you right away."

Rachel was stunned. "Oh," she paused, "Okay yeah sure. What is the placement?" She scurried over to Finn's office to get his attention. She tapped on his door flailing her arms. He turned around just in time to see Rachel pointing at the phone mouthing "Ms. Kent" to him. His eyes grew wide. "Ms. Kent can I put you on speaker so my husband can hear?" she asked.

"Oh of course!" Ms. Kent waited as Rachel pushed the speaker button. They both remained in the office doorway afraid to move and miss any detail of this conversation.

"Okay go ahead Ms. Kent," Rachel instructed.

"Well I just got a call about two children who are being put in an emergency placement tonight. A boy and a girl, ages 7 and 4. They can stay in their emergency home for two days until something long term can be found. I don't have much more info than that right now, but wanted to call and ask you if you would be willing to take them if the placement is right for them?"

Rachel felt like she was going to pass out. She clung to Finn with her free arm while clutching the phone in the other. Finn looked down at her giving a nod of approval.

"Yes Ms. Kent, we would love to take them. When would they arrive?" Rachel felt her hand shaking as the adrenaline rushed through her veins. This was unexpected and sudden, but that's how these things work.

"Okay great. I'll put a call into the main caseworker and get back to you tomorrow. If they are placed with you, you can expect them within the next 48 hours. I would start preparing if I were you. From what I've heard these children will be arriving with just the clothes on their back. I'll be in touch tomorrow."

"Thank you Ms. Kent. We look forward to your call." Finn replied.

Rachel hung up the phone and jumped into Finn's arms, causing him to stumble backwards slightly. She hugged him tightly before he put her down. "Oh my god Finn. It's happening. This is so exciting!" She beamed. Then suddenly her face fell. "But those poor babies. I wonder where they are tonight? I bet they're scared. I wonder what happened?"

"I'm sure we will find out more if we get picked. I mean she said they will be arriving with nothing. Poor kids. Good thing we have two rooms ready huh?" Finn looked at Rachel who was still looking concerned. "You aren't going to sleep tonight are you?"

Rachel laughed. "I need to but I probably won't. I'm excited and nervous at the same time. What if they don't like us? Or if they don't like our house? Wait we need to get clothes and toys for them! We-"

"Rach slow down. Let's see if we get a call tomorrow. There will be time for one of us to run out and if not, we can take the kids with us right? I mean they aren't on house arrest once they get here." Finn knew he needed to calm her racing mind. Of course his mind was racing too so I guess there was really no point. "Why don't we go make a list of what we might need? They are 7 and 4 right?"

"Yes. 7 and 4. Like kids. Not babies. Wow I always thought we'd get a baby first." It was hitting Rachel that the kids possibly coming to their house were not just going to go with the flow like a baby would.

Finn grabbed Rachel's hand and led her to the kitchen table. "You sit. Start a list. I need to just finish sending the email I was working on and I'll join you ok?"

Rachel picked up the pen and began to write.

* * *

Zack stood in the living room of the foreign home. It smelled funny in here. Lainey had passed out on the car ride over here. The mom of the house hand changed her into a pair of pajamas that were too big and placed her into a toddler bed down the hall.

"Do you want anything to eat before bed? I'm sure you've had a long day."

To be honest he was hungry, but didn't want food from this woman. He wanted his mom. "No," is all that came out of his mouth.

"Suit yourself! I'll bring you some pajamas and I'll get you off to bed." The woman goes to the other room and returned with a yellow pajama top with cars on it and a pair of pajama pants with Christmas trees. "Here you go! It's all I have in your size. Go in the bathroom and get changed and I'll show you your bed."

Zack grabbed the pajamas from her hands and walked into the bathroom. Slowly he shut the door behind him. He doesn't want to wear these pajamas. They don't match and they feel scratchy. He wants his Captain America pajamas his mom bought him when they had some extra money a few months ago. Those are at the motel though.

After he was changed, Zack slowly opened the door to find the woman waiting right outside for him. "Hand me your clothes so I can wash them. You need to take them with you when you get picked up tomorrow."

Zack's eyes lit up. "My mom's coming tomorrow? I knew it!" he exclaimed.

The woman's demeanor changed. She no longer would look Zack in the eyes. "No honey. No. The social worker is coming to pick you up to take you to another home that can keep you longer. Your mom isn't coming to get you tomorrow."

Zack slowly fell to the ground and the sobs he had been holding in finally were released. Long, loud, sobs. The woman sat down beside him, rubbing small circles in his back. "I'm so sorry and I know you are sad. Hopefully when they pick you up tomorrow they'll know something about your mom."

Zack didn't know this woman's name and didn't want to know it, but for now she was pretty nice and sat by him for a long time. He cried until his eyes were red and puffy. He was mad. Mad at his mom for leaving them. Why did she have to leave and just run away? Normally if she was going to be gone a while she ALWAYS tells them. And she always comes back. She's never left them in public before and Zack knew this time was different. This time other people saw.

The woman spoke and broke the silence in the hallway. "Why don't we head you off to bed huh? You seem like you've had a really long day and your sister will be looking for you if she wakes up and you aren't there." She reached out and grabbed for Zack's hand and helped him up off the ground.

Zack walked quietly down the hall to the room where his sister slept, trying not to think about how his pajamas rubbed his legs when he walked. As he entered the room he saw Lainey asleep, tear stained cheeks resting on her pillow. He quietly crawled into bed and the woman pulled the covers up to his chin. She whispered "goodnight" and tiptoed out of the room.

The room was dark with a tiny sliver of moonlight peeking through the window above his bed. He could hear Lainey's breathing across the room. Zack wanted his own bed with his own pajamas on and his mom. Even though they all shared one bed in the motel room, Zack missed it. He felt lonely in the room, even with his sister just a few feet away. His mom once told him she always knew what he was thinking. Well right now he hoped she did, because she would know that Zack was freaking out. Surely she'd come back if she knows this. As his eyes drifted closed, Zack had visions of his mother showing up at the door in the morning with open arms.

* * *

Rachel couldn't sleep. She and Finn had spent the entire night prepping for the possibility that tomorrow they will have children in this very house. She was giddy, excited, and terrified all at the same time. Honestly she was shocked Finn fell asleep as quickly as he did. They were both so wired after that phone call. The list of things they needed to do was a mile long. She wasn't sure she would get it all done before they arrived tomorrow. If they get picked that is.

She couldn't help but wonder about the kids. She knew they were 7 and 4, a boy and a girl. Other than that she wouldn't get any more information until Mrs. Kent called in the morning to let them know. Those poor kids. Why were they taken away from their parents? What would they be like? They were probably so scared. Tears began to form in her eyes. Pull it together Rachel. These kids need you to be strong.

Not wanting to wake Finn, she wandered out into the hallway and stood in between the two spare bedrooms. Rachel looked back and forth at these pristine rooms. No sign of life in them. Would tomorrow bring something different? She and Finn have been through so much and worked so hard over the past few months to be ready for this. Why did she feel so totally unprepared? I guess that's parenthood for you.

"Hey" Finn said, breaking the silence. Rachel spun around quickly.

"Oh hey. Sorry if I woke you." Rachel reached out towards Finn and pulled him in for a hug.

"No you didn't. I just happened to roll over and find your side of the bed empty. I guess I didn't have to go too far to find you. Are you nervous about tomorrow?"

"Yes," she answered, not moving her head from its resting place on Finn's chest. "I mean I feel totally prepared but at the same time I'm terrified we will do something wrong. And all of this could be for nothing if they aren't placed with us." Rachel pulls her head back to look up at Finn. "But Finn, what if we get them? What if tomorrow we have kids here?"

Finn smiled at Rachel but couldn't read her look. She seemed like she was either going to jump up and down screaming and clapping or burst into tears.

"Well if we have kids here tomorrow that will be awesome Rachel. And I'm scared too okay? We've never had kids before, let alone kids that can already talk," he smiled. "We've got to get some sleep though because I can promise you tomorrow might be the busiest day of our lives yet."

Rachel stared back at him feeling reassured. At least he was feeling the same way.

They both crawled back into bed on their respective sides, both staring at the ceiling with eyes wide open. There was no way either of them were getting much sleep tonight.

* * *

Zack opened his eyes slowly, noticing the light coming through the curtains was different this time. It was morning. He felt something solid behind him and quickly rolled over. Lainey. She must have snuck in his bed at some point in the night. She was probably lonely too. Disturbed by Zack's movement, Lainey groggily rubbed her eyes and opened them. She found Zack staring at her.

"Zack, what pj's are those?" she asked, pointing to his shirt.

"This is what the lady gave me after you fell asleep. They're scratchy." Zack reached up to rub a spot on his neck that was particularly irritated.

"Zacky is momma coming to pick us up today? Where did she go?" Lainey asked, wide eyed.

"I don't know Lainey. Just please be good so if mom comes back they'll let us go with her okay? No crying. Just be quiet and listen. We need to have a good report so we can go back to mom today."

Lainey nodded in agreement with Zack. Her big brother was her entire world and she knew he meant business.

"Okay. But what if momma never comes? She ran away from us. She ran so fast." Lainey looked up at the ceiling as the tears pooled in her tiny blue eyes.

"Lainey you can't cry right now. That lady is going to come in soon and we can't be crying ok? No crying."

Lainey quickly wiped the tears from her eyes. "Zack it's hard. I miss momma and our stuff."

"We'll get it back Lainey ok? Mom will come soon. She'll go to the police station and ask them where we are and find us." Zack made sure to look Lainey directly in the eyes when he spoke. He needed her to believe him. He needed to believe himself too.

Just then the door opened and the woman walked in. "Oh you're up already! Your clothes are dry so come get dressed for the day," she said as she placed their clean clothes on the end of Zack's bed. "Your social worker should be calling soon to see where you're going to go today." With that statement, she turned around and walked out of the room.

Lainey quickly got up to do what she was told. She began undressing out of her oversized nightgown she was given and placed her worn jeans and pink tank top back onto her body. She noticed that Zack hadn't moved yet.

"Come on Zack. You said you don't want us in trouble so get dressed ok?" Lainey took a motherly tone with him, which she rarely did. She could feel the tension in his body language, even at four years old.

Zack hesitantly scooted towards the end of the bed and began to remove his pajamas. He too looked down at his worn clothing wondering where his mother could be. As he got dressed he reminded Lainey of what to do.

"Okay Lainey before we go out to breakfast make sure you eat a LOT of food ok? You know sometimes we need to eat a lot of food to stay strong right?" Zack pulled her towards the doorway to their temporary room. Lainey held onto his hand tight. They slowly emerged from their bedroom to begin their day, not knowing how it would end.

* * *

Finn and Rachel had been up since 6am, neither getting much sleep since they were much too anxious about today. Rachel had already cleaned the entire house until it was spotless, showered, and triple checked the spare bedrooms four times. Finn had been sent off to the grocery store promptly at 7 am when they opened to get a list of things they would need "just in case".

Now it was 8 am and they both found themselves sitting on the couch watching the weekday news on this Monday morning. Finn was thumbing through emails on his phone while Rachel nervously flipped channels to see if anything was on that would distract her from obsessing over the phone ringing.

"I'm dying over here Finn. Can you get off of your phone and at least talk to me? I need a distraction." Rachel eyed Finn from across the room giving him that look he knew all so well. Listen to her or else.

"Sorry Rach I was just trying to get through some emails. We're both technically working today remember? No one knows what might happen today but us. The world keeps turning." Finn tossed his phone down on the coffee table and went to sit next to Rachel. They've had similar discussions before while waiting for phone calls about egg retrievals and pregnancy tests. Always tense days where neither one of them could focus. This felt eerily similar.

"I know Finn. I know. It's just that Mrs. Kent knows we want to foster to adopt so if she makes this placement then these kids might be ours permanently one day. That's exciting and I'm trying to hold it together here but it's so hard!" Rachel began to tear up, once again allowing herself to feel the weight of the situation.

"Hey now, no tears today. I'm sure the phone will ring any second. She wouldn't have called us last night if she didn't feel we would be a good match for these kids. I think the anticipation is just a thing we hate these days due to our past history with the waiting game." Finn grabbed Rachel's hands to reassure her. She was actually doing quite well in his eyes considering she had spear headed all of this.

Rachel bolted up from the couch and started walking towards the kitchen. "You're right. How about I make us a sna-." Rachel was cut off by the sound of the house phone ringing. Her eyes grew wide and she spun around to face Finn. "OH MY GOD! It has to be her!"

Finn reached over and grabbed the phone to answer it. "Hello? Yes, this is he. Let me put you on speaker so Rachel can hear."

It was Mrs. Kent. "Hello Hudson's! How are you this morning?"

"We're great Mrs. Kent. Just waiting for your phone call of course," Finn answered. Rachel was still frozen in place between the kitchen and the living room. Finn motioned for her to come join him so she could hear clearly.

"Okay, well after analyzing the situation of the children we've decided that you two would be a great match for them. Would you be willing to have them in your home? This would be at least a six month placement and a possible adoption at the tail end if the parent doesn't comply with the courts."

Rachel couldn't believe what she was hearing. This was happening. Today. It was happening today. "Of course we'll have them! Of course! What time are they coming?" Rachel was now sitting in Finn's lap squeezing his arm so tight he thought he might lose circulation.

"Well I'll have my assistant drop of their files for you to review before they arrive. I'll be picking them up around 10:30 and should have them to you by 11. They'll be arriving with no belongings so if you have time to run out to buy some toiletries and clothing you should do so. You could always take the children with you for that but I suggest the first day be spent becoming acquainted in the home, going over rules and routines, etc. If you have any questions before I arrive don't hesitate to call me, otherwise I'll see you around 11!"

Finn looked at Rachel with a giant grin. "Thank you so much Mrs. Kent. We look forward to seeing you."

Mrs. Kent hung up and Rachel let out a huge sob. "Oh my god Finn. Oh my god," she cried as her body shook in Finn's arms. "I can't believe it. Wait we have to go to the store right now!"

Rachel ran into the kitchen to grab her purse. "Rachel wait!" Finn shouted. "Slow down! Let's talk about this before we just rush to the store. We already have toiletries upstairs. We just need clothes to get us through a few days and then we can take them out again if necessary. Do we even know what sizes to buy?"

Rachel gave Finn a stunned look. "Well she said they are 7 and 4 so I guess buy those sizes and if they are way off one of us can go back out later ok?"

Finn knew he had to corral Rachel in so she could stay focused. "Let's pick up a few things to get us through today and we can go from there. The classes said to take things day by day remember? Let's do that. I know you're a planner but we've learned that we can't plan everything. This was never in our plans right? Let's just go with it for once."

Rachel was really impressed by Finn's statement. He had come so far since agreeing to do this. Once reluctant, Finn was now very involved and had shown such commitment during this process. He had been so strong for her all of these years trying to get pregnant and keeping her afloat. She knew to trust him in these situations.

"You're right. Let's go to the store quickly so we can get back before the files get here. I want to read them thoroughly before the kids arrive."

An hour later they returned with bags upon bags of clothes, books, and toys. Actually it was only five bags but Finn felt overwhelmed by the sight of it. To say that shopping trip was crazy was an understatement.

First they had to buy kid friendly but healthy snacks and he had no idea what that meant but Rachel did. Then he found himself being told to go pick out boy's underwear and pajamas. Surprisingly he found Ninja Turtle underwear that was awesome and he was sure any boy would love them. He was kind of sad they didn't have them in his size actually. Finn also grabbed two pairs of pajamas. One pair was batman because they were awesome and even had a black cape attached to the back. The other pair were Ninja Turtle ones to match the underwear. He hoped 7 year old boys were into this stuff. He knows he loved it when he was that age.

Rachel found herself wandering the girls section wondering how on earth she got to this place. Yesterday morning she would have never imagined that the very next day she would be in a store buying girls size 4 pajamas for a child that was coming to live with her. She picked out two princess nightgowns that were adorable along with some princess underwear. She also bought two outfits to get them through the next day. If it didn't fit she'd send Finn back to get it since there was no way she was leaving these kids at all today.

Right when Rachel was setting the bags down on the counter the doorbell rang. She ran to answer and found a woman standing there with a large envelop in hand.

"Hello, I'm Mrs. Kent's assistant Kendra! I'm here to drop off the children's files with you. She's running a little late and said they won't be here until around 12 so you'll have plenty of time to read through these before they are dropped off."

Rachel reached out to grab the envelope. It was thick and heavy. "Thank you so much Kendra! We'll get to reading right away."

Rachel ran back into the kitchen to find Finn unloading the bags and folding all of the clothes into the appropriate piles to be brought upstairs.

"Finn look at this," she said as she held up the file for Finn to see. "Mrs. Kent's assistant just dropped off the kids files. Look at how thick it is Finn. What on earth? These kids are so young and have a giant file?!" Rachel looked terrified.

Finn was thrown off. They hadn't really stopped to think about the backgrounds of the kids. Why did they have so much history in the system at such a young age?

"Okay Rachel, let's start reading this before the kids get here." Finn made room at the table and they both abandoned the piles of clothing on the counter for now. Rachel set the file down onto the table. She slowly opened it, almost afraid of what she will read inside.

Zachary Michael Miller age 7

Elaine Rose Miller age 4

Rachel took a deep breath. There were their names plain as day.

Mother Julie Miller age 27. History of drug abuse and mental instability.

Amongst the cover pages were various details such as birthdates, school records, etc. Nothing too concerning but it did appear that Zack had missed a lot of school in the first grade.

"Why wasn't Zack in school? Is he behind?" Finn asked. "I wonder if Lainey has ever been to preschool."

There was no explanation for the school absences, other than that mom had been reported and given a truancy notice. After that Zack's school attendance seemed to improve.

It appeared that Zack had been in Foster Care twice before Lainey was born. Both times it was for neglect on the mother's part. Each time she had completed the terms necessary for his return. Once Lainey was born the file seemed to be dormant until she turned 2. They were placed in the system again for neglect but once again Julie had completed all of the court's requirements. There were several other reports from anonymous calls made to the Department of Children's Services. Seven reports in the last two years to be exact. All seemed to be followed up and dismissed though. It didn't make sense.

* * *

Zack and Lainey quickly ate as much food as they could. The woman was not pleased and kept telling them to slow down or they would choke. She doesn't know.

Once finished, the woman ushered them into the living room to watch TV. Zack pulled Lainey close to him on the couch as they watched cartoons mindlessly. Soon the doorbell rang and the woman went to open it.

"Hello! I'm Mrs. Kent, the Miller children's social worker. I'm here to pick them up."

Zack turned toward Mrs. Kent as he sat frozen on the couch. Pick us up for what?

Mrs. Kent came closer to the kids and sat next to them on the couch. "Hello Zachary and Elaine, I'm Mrs. Kent. I'm going to be in charge of you and make sure you get to stay somewhere safe ok? Now you are going to stay with Mr. and Mrs. Hudson for now. They are very nice people and are so excited to meet you!"

Lainey just stared at Mrs. Kent with no expression. She looked back at Zack, who now had an angry look in his eye.

"No." Zack said.

"Honey what do you mean no? You have to come with me. This house was just an overnight stay until I could find you another place to stay longer. Now let's stand up and get ready to go. Do you have anything else with you?" Mrs. Kent stood up motioning for the kids to follow her. Lainey began to follow suit but Zack didn't budge.

"Lainey sit down. We aren't going with her," Zack commanded, arms folded over his chest. Lainey sat back down next to Zack and folded her arms as well.

"Kids listen," Mrs. Kent continued, "I know this has been so so sad and hard to sleep in a strange place and I know you are missing your mom, but we have to take you to a safe place for you to live until we can figure things out ok? I promise you will like the Hudson's. They are so nice and have a big house and a big back yard to play in!" Mrs. Kent smiled widely, hoping that it would cheer up the kids. Lainey's eyes lit up, but Zack remained sullen.

Zack stood up quickly. "NO! We aren't going with you because my mom is going to come looking for us and the police won't know what to tell her if we leave!" Zack stood rigidly, balling up his fists by his side. "My mom always comes back and is probably at the grocery store looking for us right now! You can't take us somewhere else! You can't!" His body began to relax as he fought the tears forming in his eyes. "I won't go. You can't make me!"

Zack ran into the bedroom and locked the door behind him. There. Now they can't get to me and I can't go anywhere. He scanned the room for a possible escape. Oh no. Lainey. She's still out there and mom will be so mad if Lainey is left behind. Maybe if I climb out the window and get to the store then mom can come back for Lainey. But where is the store from here?

Zack's thoughts were disrupted by a knocking at the door. "Zack! Honey open the door! We have to get going and I know you don't want to go but you have to. If you won't come then I'll have to call the police to take you and I don't think you want that."

The police? Oh no. Not again. Zack began to breathe quickly in a panic. "No! Don't call the police! Please!" as he ran to the door to open it. His escape will have to come later. "I'm sorry! I'll be good. Just don't call the police!" Zack rubbed his wet eyes and pushed his sweaty hair off of his forehead as Mrs. Kent ushered him back out into the living room. Lainey was still sitting on the couch, wide-eyed and panicked.

Mrs. Kent grabbed each child by the hand. "Now are we ready to go? The Hudson's are waiting for you two." Neither child answered as Mrs. Kent thanked the woman for her service and led them out to the car. They remained silent as Mrs. Kent buckled them in and they began their drive.

* * *

Finn and Rachel had been skimming over the children's files for over an hour and still hadn't really begun to grasp what they needed to do once the kids arrived. Honestly, they were heartbroken for these kids. They were so young and had been through so much.

"Finn, these kids," she paused, "they must be terrified. I wonder why they were taken away again? Does their mom want them back eventually? I'm realizing that even with this fat file we still don't know a lot. They are coming soon and we have to take care of them and we don't know." Rachel just kept staring at the pages in front of her, dripping with information but yet still missing so much.

"Rachel I'm not going to lie, I'm pretty nervous. What if they don't like us? What if we can't help them?" Finn rubbed the back of his neck like he usually does when he's unsure of something. "Let's re read these files again to see if we can dissect some of this."

Rachel flipped back to the beginning of the files and the doorbell rang. "Shit!" Rachel shouted. Finn was stunned since those words never leave her mouth but he felt the same.

"Don't panic. It will be fine. We need to be calm for the kid's right? They are young. It can't be that bad." Finn stood up from the chair realizing the kitchen was still in somewhat of disarray as they had been so caught up in reading the files. Rachel began frantically trying to put things away when Finn grabbed her arm as she passed by him. "Hey, leave it. Our house doesn't have to be perfect for them."

Rachel took a deep breath. "Oh, Okay. Yes let's go answer the door." Rachel reached out for Finn's hand, gripping it tightly as they walked towards the front door. Through the glass window they could see Mrs. Kent's head as she mumbled something to the kids below her.

Finn opened the door and they saw them. Lainey was there in her jeans and pink tank top, blonde wavy hair flowing down her back. She clung to Mrs. Kent's arm tightly. The boy was holding her other hand. Zack looked up at Finn, sandy blonde hair in his eyes as he stood there emotionless. His clothes were tattered, worn, and clearly too small for him.

Rachel appeared next to Finn and said a quiet "Hello" as the kids just stood there making no attempt to enter the house.

Mrs. Kent plastered on a smile. "Okay kids, why don't we go inside and meet Mr. and Mrs. Hudson okay? It's getting quite warm and we don't want to get too hot."

Rachel backed away from the door as Finn held it open, allowing space for them to all move inside. Mrs. Kent let go of the children's hands since they all couldn't go through the door at the same time. Rachel couldn't stop staring at them. These children were beautiful but looked so sad.

A scream ripped her from her thoughts. "Lainey run!" Zack cried out. They took off down the front steps as Mrs. Kent dropped her bag and began chasing them.

 **Thoughts? Leave me a review**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello to everyone who is still reading! As stated before, I've done research on the Foster Care system but some elements of the story may not be fully accurate. I don't own glee. I do own the plot and Zack and Lainey! Enjoy!**

Rachel took a deep breath. "Oh, Okay. Yes let's go answer the door." Rachel reached out for Finn's hand, gripping it tightly as they walked towards the front door. Through the glass window they could see Mrs. Kent's head as she mumbled something to the kids below her.

Finn opened the door and they saw them. Lainey was there in her jeans and pink tank top, blonde wavy hair flowing down her back. She clung to Mrs. Kent's arm tightly. The boy was holding her other hand. Zack looked up at Finn, sandy blonde hair in his eyes as he stood there emotionless. His clothes were tattered, worn, and clearly too small for him.

Rachel appeared next to Finn and said a quiet "Hello" as the kids just stood there making no attempt to enter the house.

Mrs. Kent plastered on a smile. "Okay kids, why don't we go inside and meet Mr. and Mrs. Hudson okay? It's getting quite warm and we don't want to get too hot."

Rachel backed away from the door as Finn held it open, allowing space for them to all move inside. Mrs. Kent let go of the children's hands since they all couldn't go through the door at the same time. Rachel couldn't stop staring at them. These children were beautiful but looked so sad.

A scream ripped her from her thoughts. "Lainey run!" Zack cried out. They took off down the front steps as Mrs. Kent dropped her bag and began chasing them.

Finn and Rachel stood at the front door stunned, frozen in place. Finn's instincts kicked in and he began to run after the group. He could hear Rachel's footsteps a few feet behind him. The kids were now running down the street towards the main road, Zack a little further ahead of Lainey. Mrs. Kent was wearing heels and was pretty much useless in this chase. She soon stopped once Finn passed her.

Rachel chased after Finn and the kids in a panic. What is happening? One minute she was staring into these children's eyes and the next they were running down the street as if their life depended on it. What were they so afraid of? This was eerily similar to her dream she had, except right now no one was calling her mommy. Panic coursed through her veins as she kept running, trying to catch up to Finn and the kids.

Finn began gaining on the kids. He was very close to Lainey and was able to reach out and scoop her up. This caused her to release a scream like none he has ever heard. It was carnal, filled with a fright that came from somewhere deep inside.

"NOOOOOOO! ZACK HELP ME!" Lainey screamed as Finn wrestled her up into his arms while still trying to run after Zack. Rachel was catching up but wasn't fast enough.

Upon hearing Lainey's screams Zack froze and turned around. Both Rachel and Finn stopped as to not cause him to run any further. Lainey's screams fell into a whimper once she made eye contact with Zack.

"Zack don't leave me. Please don't leave me!" Lainey pleaded.

Finn was very out of breath, holding Lainey tight in his arms. Rachel walked slowly forward towards Finn, making sure not to pass him and frighten Zack. A few neighbors had now made their way into their yards to investigate the commotion.

"Hey buddy," Finn huffed as he looked at Zack. "Why don't you come with us into the house and we can show you around?"

"No." Zack said as he crossed his arms.

"Okay," Finn replied, shifting Lainey to his other hip. "Well can you tell me why you don't want to?" Finn was trying to keep him engaged so he wouldn't run off again or until Rachel made a move. He wasn't sure either was going to happen right now. Rachel stood next to him frozen still looking at Zack and then back at Mrs. Kent who seemed to be searching through her bag at the moment.

Zack stood his ground not noticing Finn and Rachel were slowly inching closer. "I want to go home. I don't want to live in your house."

This time Rachel felt the need to speak. "I know this is scary but I promise you our house is a really safe place. You can stay with us until you can go back home ok? It's almost lunch time and I'm sure you're getting hungry. Do you want to help me make lunch?" Rachel held out her hand towards Zack but he still wouldn't move.

Lainey leaned into Finn's ear and whispered "I'm hungry". Finn looked at Lainey and her big blue eyes and smiled. "Okay. As soon as your brother comes with us we can go make lunch. We love to have helpers with lunch don't we Rachel?" Finn answered Lainey loudly to make sure Zack would hear.

Zack remained quiet but his eyes grew wide at the sight of Mrs. Kent walking towards him with a phone in her hand. "Don't call the police! I'll be good!" he shouted.

Finn and Rachel looked at each other wide eyed not knowing how to read this situation.

Zack rushed over to Rachel's open hand and grabbed it. "Hey no one is calling the police Zack. Right Mrs. Kent?" she said as she raised an eyebrow towards the social worker.

"No, no I guess that won't be necessary." Mrs. Kent placed her phone back in her bag. "Can we go into the house now so we can get everything set before I need to go?"

Zack looked up at Rachel and nodded. Lainey still clung to Finn's neck, unsure of the situation. They four of them followed Mrs. Kent back up the road to their house. The neighbors had all gone back inside once they saw them coming. "Great" Rachel thought to herself. Now they'll be the talk to the town by 4th of July.

Mrs. Kent held the door open as the four of them shuffled inside. Rachel led Zack over to the couch in the living room and Finn sat down next to him with Lainey in his lap. She still had her arms wrapped around his neck in a death grip.

Rachel could feel the tension in the room. The children looked terrified and disheveled. She and Finn didn't look much better after chasing the kids down the street. "Mrs. Kent, what do we need to do before we can get on with our day? I'm sure the kids need some down time after their morning?" Rachel's eyes never leaving the children as she spoke. "We've managed to get the necessities before you arrived and seeing as they didn't arrive with bags we can get the rest tomorrow."

Mrs. Kent reached into her bag, still shaking from the earlier events. She pulled out a folder with some papers in it and set them on the coffee table. "I'll need you two to sign these documents which say that I handed the children over to you and you are for now their temporary guardians through the state of Ohio."

Finn bent over to grab the pen off of the table but was stopped short because Lainey still clung to him tightly. He gently pulled her arms off of her neck and placed them in his hands. "Hey Lainey, I'm going to sit you down right here so I can sign these papers and then I'll pick you right back up ok?" Lainey gave a faint nod as Finn sat her next to Zack. Rachel and Finn both quickly signed the papers and handed them back to Mrs. Kent. The children still sat silent on the couch and hadn't moved at all.

"Okay that's all for today. Mrs. Hudson, can I have a word with you as we walk out please?" Mrs. Kent motioned for Rachel to follow her to the door.

"Yes of course. Finn you sit here with the kids ok?" Rachel looked at him wide eyed as if she was trying to send some sort of subliminal message to him.

"I think we'll be okay for a few minutes right kids?" Finn turned towards them waiting for a response, but they still just sat there silent.

Mrs. Kent and Rachel made their way to the front porch. Rachel was sure to close the door tightly behind them in case one of the kids decided to run. They were going to need higher locks on these doors. "So that's it?" Rachel asked. "You just drop them off like this and leave?"

"Well yes Mrs. Hudson. I wanted to call you out here to tell you that these children were abandoned yesterday by their mother at a grocery store. I'm not at liberty to say which one."

Rachel didn't realize that her mouth was gaping open. Mrs. Kent had just blurted that out like it was a common thing. "She….she just left them? At the store?" She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her heart hammered in her chest as she through about all of the turmoil the kids must have been through in just 24 hours.

"Yes," Mrs. Kent replied. "I know these children have been in the system before as you've seen in their file, but I can't imagine that being left in a grocery store by their own mother in the middle of a typical day is going to be an easy thing for them to get over. Now I'll be in touch tomorrow to get them set up for counseling services. I suggest you be very careful with Zack. He's wants to flee to find his mom. You are also required to call the police if he is missing at any time."

Rachel could feel her head spinning. Her eyes began to well up with tears. She was overwhelmed but mostly with sadness for Lainey and Zack. She and Finn had taken all of the classes and made sure they were fully prepared. Right now she's feels the most unprepared she has ever felt about anything.

Rachel quickly brushed the tear falling down her cheek away so Mrs. Kent wouldn't notice. "How long will we have them? Could this be permanent?"

Mrs. Kent cleared her throat as she began to fish her keys out of her purse. "I can't say right now Mrs. Hudson. Mom has not been located so my guess is she'll be charged with child abandonment within the next few days. A judge will decide if her rights are terminated and then we can proceed from there." Mrs. Kent reached out to grab Rachel's hand. "Foster care is a fickle thing Mrs. Hudson. Just go in there and give those kids the home they deserve, whether it be for a few weeks for forever."

Rachel stood on the front porch as she watched Mrs. Kent get in her car and drive away. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she turned around to open the front door. As she walked inside she was greeted with silence. Rachel approached the living room cautiously. Why did she feel scared?

Finn remained on the couch with the kids as he saw Rachel come back in the room. He had tried to talk to the kids and engage them in some type of conversation, but they just sat there stunned and silent. Finn felt a wave of relief wash over him as Rachel returned. He didn't know what to do.

Rachel put on a brave face for Finn and the kids, even though she was panicking inside. What do they do now? What if Zack tries to run again? She felt her hands shaking, still not recovered from her adrenaline rush from earlier.

"Okay! Mrs. Kent is gone so what should we do huh? Are you guy's hungry for lunch? Wait what time do you eat lunch? Do you want to play a game or watch TV or.-?

"Rachel," Finn interrupted, "they aren't really talking right now so maybe we can just hang out for a few minutes?" He could tell Rachel was feeling overwhelmed. He was too. However, he didn't want the kids catching onto that vibe. They had already had a rough morning and he was trying desperately to find something that will bring them out of their shell.

"Yes. Sounds good. Why don't I find something we can watch on TV? Sound good. We've all had a busy morning and we can relax." The kids just stared back at Rachel, expressionless. She turned on the TV and found the Cartoon Network which was airing Tom and Jerry at the moment.

"Oh I love this show! It was one of my favorites growing up. Have you guys seen it?" Finn looked down at Zack who was still sitting stone faced. He didn't move. He then felt Lainey shake her head faintly to indicate she hadn't. Finn glanced over towards Rachel who was sitting on the loveseat across from him. She raised her eyebrows to question what he wanted. Neither wanted to speak and say the wrong thing. It was going to be a long day.

* * *

Two hours had passed and all was quiet in the Hudson home. That was the issue though. The kids still weren't speaking and haven't moved from the couch. Rachel had passed some time by cleaning up the shopping trip goods out of the kitchen, checking in with Finn and the kids every so often. Finn hadn't moved. Lainey still was clinging to him and he didn't want to disturb the peace. Zach became slightly distracted by the cartoons and the scowl on his face had lifted for now.

Rachel was at a loss about what to do next. She hadn't really focused on the fact that when they got a child or children in their home, they wouldn't know them. It's like having two strangers in your house. Finn was of course being amazing, not moving from the couch to give Lainey the comfort she needed. Zack didn't seem to want anything to do with anyone or anything.

Rachel walked into the room cautiously, but she needed to try and engage with the kids. "Do you guys want a snack? You've been here a while and I'm sure you're hungry. Maybe after we have a snack we can go play outside until dinner? How does that sound?" Rachel waited for a moment. She knew they had to be getting hungry and was hoping this would help them feel more comfortable.

"I'm hungry, but can this man come with me to eat?" Lainey said in a whisper.

"I sure can," Finn answered as he stood up with Lainey in his arms. "What about you buddy? You want to come with us?" Finn turned to Zack and held out his hand to help him up.

"No." Zack answered sternly.

"Okay well you know where the kitchen is? It's right through there." Finn pointed towards the kitchen door as Rachel turned around and waved. "If you change your mind and get hungry you just come and find us ok?" Finn made eye contact with Zack before he glanced back at the TV.

Once he got into the kitchen he placed Lainey down onto one of the kitchen chairs. "I promise I'll be right back. I just have to help Rachel get the snacks ready ok? You can see me the entire time." Lainey nodded and sat quietly in the chair.

Rachel realized that she hadn't even told Finn about the kid's circumstances. "Finn, can you come over here for a quick second? I need some help"

Finn walked slowly over to the fridge, keeping an eye on Lainey as well as Zack through the doorway. "What's up? I'm so on edge and I'm afraid Zack will try to run again? Is the front door locked? I'm going to need to buy higher locks that he can't reach." Finn was rambling. He had been sitting quietly with the kids for two hours and was finally away from them to talk to Rachel. He had so many questions. How were they going to do this?

Rachel put out her hand in front of his mouth to get him to stop talking. "Yes Finn I agree about the locks. You should do that tonight after they go to bed. I need to tell you quickly what Mrs. Kent told me. It's about the kid's mom." Rachel looked over at Lainey who was sitting so nicely at the table, short legs dangling below her. Tears began to form in her eyes again. "Finn, their mom….she left them. She just left them at the store on Sunday and never came back. Finn they've been abandoned."

Finn was stunned. He had read their file, but imagining these two little kids being left by their own mother left him speechless.

"I just wanted to tell you because there's reasons they are acting like this. We probably don't even know everything they've been through. We just have to remember what we've learned and we need to apply it. I'm trying very hard not to freak out because how they were dropped off was never what I imagined. But they need us Finn. They have no one." Rachel realized tears were starting to fall. She was trying hard all of this time not to judge their mother. She didn't know what she was going through. However, as someone who had struggled for years just to have one baby, she can't imagine why their mom would have left them behind.

Just then Lainey's quiet voice pipped up. "Excuse me lady, can I have my snack now? And big man can you sit next to me?" Rachel chuckled realizing she didn't know their names yet but still found a way to address them.

"Sure Lainey, what do you like? We have cheese, goldfish crackers, strawberries….."

"Oh Strawberries! We don't have those a lot." Lainey clapped her hands together in excitement.

"Oh and Lainey, my name is Rachel and the big guy there is Finn ok? So it's very nice to meet you." Rachel walked over to Lainey and shook her hand, which made Lainey giggle. Rachel glanced over to see Zack side glancing into the kitchen, still trying to act uninterested.

Finn cut up some strawberries and placed them in front of Lainey. She began feverishly shoveling them into her mouth. "Whoa there! Lainey slow down! One at a time!" Finn pulled the bowl away from Lainey as Rachel wiped her mouth.

"Hey Lainey, you need to eat one at a time okay? We have plenty. Now Finn is going to put the bowl back and I need you to eat slow ok?" Finn placed the bowl back in front of her and Lainey carefully put one strawberry into her mouth and chewed slowly.

"Great job Lainey!" Finn exclaimed.

Just then Zack appeared in the doorway. He glanced at Lainey's bowl of strawberries and then back at Rachel.

"Oh hey Zack! Do you want some strawberries? If not we have other stuff." Rachel waited for Zack's answer, if it was even going to come.

"Yes, strawberries," he said and he quickly sat down at the kitchen table next to Lainey. Finn smiled to himself. Progress is progress.

The two kids ate their snack as Finn and Rachel paced around the kitchen, unsure of what to do. This didn't feel natural. It felt awkward and tense. Rachel wanted to run over to them and scoop them up into her arms and just hug them and tell them everything was going to be okay. She didn't know that though, and the kids didn't seem receptive to her at all. She imagined their faces when their mom walked away from them and had to push that out of her mind. No. She had to be strong.

Once they were finished they all went into the backyard. Rachel still had all of the toys and games from the BBQ last month so they at least had something for kids to do.

Zack plopped himself down onto the chair on the deck and crossed his arms. Finn noticed him and went straight towards him.

"Hey bud, do you know how to play football?" Finn asked.

"No. Football is stupid." Zack looked away and pulled his legs up onto the chair to his chest. He looked like he wanted to disappear.

"Well I don't think it's stupid and I'd really like to show you how to play. I started playing when I was your age."

"Well good for you," Zack said sarcastically. "Sports are dumb."

"Who said sports are dumb? There are lots of sports you know, they can't all be dumb."

"My MOM said they were dumb so they are. They cost a lot of money and you need a dad to show you stuff and I don't have one. Can you stop asking now? I don't want to play. Leave me alone." Zack took a deep breath and sat further back in his chair.

Finn was scrambling in his mind for the right thing to say. "I don't have a dad either!" he blurted out. "I mean, my dad died when I was a baby. I have a new dad now but he wasn't around until I was older."

Zack stared back at Finn. "You….you didn't have a dad when you were little? Like me?"

"No. My mom had to teach me how to play football and she wasn't very good". Finn laughed which earned a small smile from Zack. "And you know, if we play in the back yard it doesn't cost any money! It will be fun I promise. You've been sitting down all day! Let's run around a bit!"

Finn began to run down the steps to the yard as Rachel and Lainey got the bubbles out and had made it down to the grass. Zack slowly followed Finn down to the yard.

Rachel saw this happening and was overjoyed. "Hey Zack! Glad you could join us!"

Zack ignored Rachel which was a blow to her emotions. He kept walking towards Finn until they were close enough for him to toss the football back and forth.

On the first toss Zack jumped out of the way and let it go by. "That's okay" Finn shouted, "We'll try again!"

Zack waited for Finn to throw it again and he dropped it. Finn realized this wasn't going to be as easy as he had pictured it in his mind. Zack picked up the ball and threw it to Finn. It didn't make it but at least he was participating. The third time Finn threw the ball and Zack put his hands up but the ball went straight through and smacked him in the forehead.

"Crap!" Finn shouted as he ran towards Zack. He expected to see Zack upset, but instead he looked enraged. His hands were balled up into tight fists and his face was red.

"I TOLD YOU SPORTS WERE DUMB!" he shouted, and he began to run for the gate.

Finn began to chase after Zack. "STOP Zack! STOP! I'm sorry!" Finn screamed as he began to catch up to Zack.

Lainey and Rachel were pulled out of their happy bubble blowing by all of this commotion. As Finn passed them Lainey began to scream. "BIG GUY! Where are you going? Come back!" she shouted as she too began to run after them.

Rachel stood frozen. She couldn't believe this was happening again. These kids were only here a few hours and it's been pure chaos. She couldn't move. Couldn't help. Not that she would be of much help anyways. The kids would barely look at her.

Zack reached the gate first. What he wasn't anticipating was that the gate had a padlock on it that he had no way of opening. He was trapped. Zack spun around just in time for Finn to grab his arm.

"Let me go!" he shouted as he tried to squirm from Finn's grip. Finn picked him up to get a better hold on him when he felt a tug at his leg. Lainey.

"Big Guy don't run away!" she said as she clung to his leg for dear life.

Rachel saw the scene and began to jog over to them. "Lainey, come here so Finn can walk Zack back into the house." She held out her arms but Lainey wouldn't budge.

"Rachel I'll be fine. Let's just get inside." Finn began to walk towards the deck holding Zack who was squirming. He couldn't bend his left leg because Lainey was clinging to him like a monkey. He began his long hobble to the steps as Rachel stood by. She couldn't do anything. She knew if she tried to get Lainey off his leg he would freak and Zack was too big for her to hold.

Once inside Finn was out of breath, sweat dripping off of his brow. Zack had given up struggling once he realized how strong Finn was.

"Okay Lainey I need you to go with Rachel so I can sit down and talk to Zack." Finn looked down at Lainey who was still hanging on to his leg. He was quite amazed at how long she held on.

"I don't want to go with the lady. I want you."

Rachel looked at Finn as her face fell. That stung.

"Come on Lainey, why don't you help me cook dinner? I'm making spaghetti and you can be my chef!" Rachel tried to act enthused to try and tempt Lainey to follow her.

"Yum spaghetti!" she cheered as she let go of Finn's leg. "Big Guy are you coming to dinner? With Zack?"

"Of course! We will be right there!" Finn carried Zack to the couch as the two girls went into the kitchen.

Zack sat with a scour on his face and his arms crossed. This seemed to be a common look for him.

"Zack, I know you are upset about being here. You don't know us and we don't know you. But you can't be trying to run away all of the time. What about Lainey? She needs you right? You're her big brother."

Zack sat quietly thinking about Finn's words. He looked across the couch at Finn and tried to fight back his tears. "If I run away then I can try to find mom and I'll get Lainey later. She can't keep up with me. She's small." Zack could no longer hide his sadness. The sobs he'd been holding in all day finally came. "I don't want to live here. I want to find my mom. She's probably looking for us and the police won't tell her where we are."

It was then Finn realized the enormity of their situation. These kids want their mom. They need their mom, even though she abandoned them. They were suffering and he and Rachel had to find a way to ease their pain.

Finn reached out to rub the small of Zack's back. "I know bud. I know you miss your mom but you can't run away to find her. If she goes to the police I promise they will let us know. The police are here to help you and keep you safe. I'm sure these past two days have been scary right?"

Zack sniffled through his tears. He was sad. Sadder than he's ever been. Mom usually left them in the motel, but never at a store. How would she find them? "Yeah I guess. I'm a big boy though and I can take care of Lainey all by myself. I don't need to be here with you and HER. Lainey and I don't need you."

Finn wishes Rachel would come in the room because he's running out of things to say. What do you say to a 7 year old who has been taking care of his little sister for her entire life? He turned back towards the kitchen only to find Rachel and Lainey at the stove stirring something and their backs were turned.

"Zack I am sure you do a great job of taking care of Lainey. But now you have us and you can be the kid and we can do the grown up stuff ok? We want to do the grown up stuff and you can be the helper."

"No. I'll take care of Lainey. She doesn't know things like I do." Zack curled himself into a ball and sat deep into the couch.

Finn was at a loss. Obviously this wasn't going to be fixed with one conversation.

Rachel reappeared to announce that dinner is going to be ready soon and asked the kids to wash their hands. Zack ran into the kitchen to grab Lainey and Rachel showed them were the bathroom was.

Finn realized it was 5pm and he hadn't looked at his phone all day. Things had been so crazy he didn't even know where his phone was. Everyone at the office must think he's dead.

Rachel seemed to have a handle on things so Finn ran to the office to find his phone. He was afraid to even look down at the screen. 30 unread emails, 5 missed calls (2 from Puck, 3 from his mom) and 27 text messages. He'd weed through those later. They hadn't even had time to notify the office. Things were changing around here and fast.

* * *

Dinner went off without a hitch. No one managed to choke, cry, or run away so it was a success to the Hudson's for sure. It was time for bath and then bed before Finn could run to the store to buy more locks for the doors.

They both walked the kids upstairs to show them their rooms. The creaking of the stairs was the only sound that was made.

"Okay Zack your room here is on the left with the light blue walls. Lainey yours is on the right with the light green walls. Our room is right next to Lainey's and across the hall from you Zack. We have some pajamas for you and a few outfits but we can go to the store tomorrow and buy some more things ok? Your toothbrushes and toothpaste are in the bathroom and we can help you brush your teeth after your bath." Rachel looked down at the two kids whose bright blue eyes were staring back at her. Maybe she was going a little too fast.

Zack and Lainey stood still looking back and forth between their rooms. Lainey pushed her hair away from her eyes. "I'm gonna be all alone?" She asked as she looked up at Rachel for some reassurance.

Zack chimed in quickly. "We've always been in the same room. In the motel we slept in a big bed with our mom. We like it that way." Zack looked up at Rachel as if he was daring her to do or say something wrong.

Rachel stood in front of them as she clasped her hands nervously in front of her. She wanted to be the parent figure, but she also didn't want to say or do something to upset them. She knows Zack is waiting to see her reaction and Lainey will follow whatever he does.

"Well why don't we try to sleep in our own rooms tonight? Finn and I can sit with you guys until you go to sleep if you'd like. Now let's get in the bath so we can clean up before bed!"

Rachel walked further down the hall to the guest bathroom. She realized no one followed her so she stuck her head back out into the hallway. The kids were standing side by side, Finn standing behind them. He motioned his arms up in the air indicating he had no idea why they weren't moving.

"Are you guys coming?"

The kids slowly walked towards Rachel and stopped at the door.

"I can give Lainey a bath. I always do it." Zack said as he pushed past Rachel towards the tub.

Rachel looked up at Finn at a complete loss. Finn stepped forward as he realized Rachel had not heard any of his conversation with Zack earlier.

"Rachel, Zack was telling me earlier how he was a big boy and takes care of Lainey. I explained that he gets to be the kid now and we get to be the adults. Right Zack?"

Rachel nodded at Finn and back at the kids. Now she sees what's going on. Zack is struggling for power because he's had all of it up until today.

"Yeah I guess, but I want to give Lainey the bath." Zack started to run the water which made Rachel nervous.

"Okay Zack but one of us has to stay in here and supervise ok?" Rachel sat down on the closed toilet seat as Lainey began to undress.

"NO! I want Big Guy in here! Not you!" Lainey shouted.

Finn motioned to Rachel to leave the bathroom. She was stunned. Rachel felt as if she wasn't needed at all. Finn gave Rachel a squeeze on her shoulder and told her to go lay out the kids pajamas while he got them bathed.

After laying out the kid's clothes, Rachel went into her room and sat down on her bed. She let the mattress envelope her as she laid back. She stared at the ceiling as she could hear the kids chatting with Finn. It wasn't much, but he was interacting with them. Being a dad figure. She was alone in her room, useless.

She thinks back to the classes they took. The scenarios they heard about but thought it would never happen to them. Well it's happening. Rachel didn't expect it to be easy, but today has been hard. Really, really hard. Exhausting even. They had a boy who wanted to escape them and a girl who wanted nothing to do with Rachel on a personal level.

She had to snap out of this. She felt selfish for even letting herself feel these things when these two kids have been through so much.

Soon she saw both kids running down the hall wrapped in their towel. Finn waved to her as he walked by. "Rach can you come help me?" he asked, never once stopping to lose sight of the kids.

Both kids willingly got dressed into their pajamas. Zack tried hard to hide his smile as he put on the Ninja Turtle pajamas Finn had picked out. Finn noticed but didn't want to mention it. He also figured it was best if he tucked Zack in tonight.

Lainey twirled in her princess nightgown. "Do I get to keep this?" she asked excitedly. "I've never had one like this before with a pretty skirt!"

"Of course you can" Rachel replied as she pulled back Lainey's covers. "Do you want me to read you a story before bed?"

"No, I want Big Guy to do it."

Rachel sighed as she walked across the hall to get Finn. "Hey Lainey would like you to read her a story. Zack do you want to come over too?"

Zack climbed into his bed. "No," was all he said as he let Finn pull the covers over his body.

As Finn walked across the hall, Rachel decided to try and talk to Zack. She had to make an effort so he could see that she cared. Rachel sat down on the edge of his bed.

"Hi Zack. I know we haven't talked much today but I'm really glad you're here and I hope you will give us a chance to show you."

Zack rolled away from Rachel. "Go away."

Rachel blinked back the tears but they came anyways. "Okay well have a great night's sleep and you can come across the hall into our room or shout for us if you need anything. I promise we won't be mad."

Zack remained silent so Rachel left the room, closing Zack's door but left a sliver of it open. She promptly wiped her tears away just in time to see Finn wrapping up his book with Lainey.

"Good night Lainey," Finn said as he stood up from her bed. "Can you say goodnight to Rachel?"

"Goodnight Lady," Lainey said as she waved to Rachel in the doorway. "Big Guy where do you sleep?"

"I sleep next door with Rachel and if you need something in the night just call for us and we will come ok?" Finn made his way to the doorway and grabbed Rachel's hand. She had that look in her eye where she could break at any moment.

He closed Lainey's door and they barely made it down the stairs before Rachel let out the sob she had been holding in. Finn rushed her to the kitchen so the kids wouldn't hear.

"Shhhh Rach. I know. Today's been pretty bad. Hard. I think we did a good job."

Rachel shook her head at Finn. "You mean YOU did a great job while I did nothing. They hate me. And you know what? Even though they hate me, I look at them and I love them. I love them already and they've been here for less than 12 hours." Finn handed her a tissue to wipe away her tears.

"Rachel they don't hate you. I'm just a safe person. Remember in the classes? The kids sometimes go to the person who seems the least like their caregiver remember?" Finn pulled her in for a hug.

"So you're saying I remind them of the woman who LEFT them in a store?" she said angrily, pushing out the hold Finn had around her.

"Rachel come on! Calm down. You getting mad isn't helping. What I mean is you remind them of a MOM. Any mom. Their mom or not."

Rachel took a deep breath as she realized she was getting emotional and needed to be strong. "I'm sorry. Today has just been so weird. I feel like we are in the Twilight Zone right now. Bottom line is that we have two kids upstairs, living in our house Finn. What if they are here forever?" Rachel backed up and sat down in a chair to regain some composure.

"Rach we need to take this day by day. Hour by hour even. I think I need to take the rest of the week off until we can get daycare set up and get them settled. I'll send out an email tonight." Finn grabbed his phone out of his back pocket and pursed his lips together as he typed feverishly.

"Shit work! Where is my phone?" Rachel scanned the room but didn't see it in the kitchen. She didn't even have the energy to get up.

"Your phone is in the office with mine. I didn't check mine until before dinner. My mom had called a few times. Guess we need to tell our parents about this? They'll want to come up and see them but honestly I don't know if the kids can deal with that."

Rachel nodded in agreement. The kids couldn't handle Rachel and Finn, let alone a ton of relatives in their faces.

"I think we can tell them but no visitors for at least a few weeks. These kids have been through enough without our crazy family around."

"I'll send out a group text tomorrow. I don't even want to have to field the texts or calls we'd get tonight if I sent it now." Finn walked over to Rachel and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I'm going to run to the store before it closes and get those locks so we can put them up quickly before bed."

As Finn left for the store Rachel quickly checked her phone and sent out an email that she would be out of the office until next Monday. She then crept up the stairs to check on the kids. To say she wasn't nervous was a lie. If anything she learned that this journey was completely unpredictable. Fortunately both kids had passed out in their own beds.

After a quick shower for herself, Rachel laid down on her bed and sent Finn a text asking when he was going to be home.

* * *

Rachel sat up with a start. She must have fallen asleep because she glanced at the clock and it was 1:15 am. "Oh my God" she said out loud as she waited for her eyes to adjust. She began to frantically reach over to Finn's side of the bed but it was empty. Her heart began to race as she realized how long she had been asleep and the kids were alone in their rooms. Where was Finn?

She stood up and raced to the hallway. Near the top of the stairs she could see a large figure on the floor. As she got closer she could see that it was Finn, sleeping in the hallway with just a pillow. What on Earth was he doing?

Rachel shook him gently, trying not to make too much noise. "Finn," she whispered, "Finn wake up."

Finn opened his eyes and groaned. "Ugh! My back!" He began to sit up slowly and Rachel crouched down to his level.

"Why are you sleeping in the hallway? Why didn't you wake me up?"

Finn rubbed the back of his neck to try and dull the ache that was lingering. "Well I got home and you were passed out on the bed. I realized that me installing locks would make a ton of noise so I just decided to sleep here in case one of the kids got up and tried to go downstairs."

Rachel leaned over to give Finn a gentle kiss. "Oh Finn that is so sweet but maybe not the brightest idea seeing as you barely fit in this space as it is. Let's check on the kids and go to bed."

Rachel put out her hand to help Finn up and they walked into Lainey's room. There they found Lainey sound asleep, with Zack right beside her. They finally looked peaceful for the first time since they'd arrived.

"Should we move him?" Finn whispered.

Rachel nodded "no" as they tiptoed out of the bedroom.

As the climbed into bed Rachel began to chuckle.

"What?" Finn asked.

"I'm just imagining Zack sneaking into Lainey's room and seeing you sprawled out in the hallway. He probably thinks we are both nuts."

Finn cracked a smile. "Yeah some good that did considering I didn't even hear him."

As they both got under the covers, Finn grabbed Rachel's hand. "We can do this Rachel. It's going to be hard but we can. We can help them."

Rachel wasn't so sure. This was her idea and now she was doubting herself. "I hope so Finn. I really do."

* * *

 **So what do you think? I love getting reviews and feedback!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Here is Chapter 6! Once again I don't own anyone but Zack and Lainey. Thanks to Erica for proofing! Enjoy!**

* * *

A week had passed since the kids had first arrived in the Hudson's home. To say things had been hectic was an understatement. Zack had tried to run away three more times, but the door locks and some reassurance have stopped additoinal attempts in the past few days. Lainey still clung to Finn like he hung the moon, and Zack refused to give anyone the time of day. To top it all off, today they were going back to work.

They had each taken an entire week off to stay home and deal with the kids. No one knew about the their situation. Every time one of them would try to call their parents a crisis would emerge. Their coworkers didn't bat an eye, probably just figuring they were going through another medical procedure and had decided to work from home. Finn and Rachel knew they had to bite the bullet and start letting the world know about their situation. How could others handle it if they were barely handling it themselves?

Rachel had spent the past week researching day cares, setting up doctor's appointments, and buying the kids the rest of the clothing they needed. Besides a few short walks, the kids really hadn't left the house since arriving. They wanted to take things slow. Every time a trip to the store was mentioned the kids would perk up, mostly in the hopes of seeing their mom there. Finn suggested maybe they take the kids out to dinner after daycare this evening. Rachel reluctantly agreed but hopefully the kids would be excited about it.

Finn had left while the kids were eating breakfast to meet some clients across town. Lainey threw a solid 20 minute fit over him leaving her but had come around once Rachel put a bowl of strawberries on the table. Zack just sat and ate his breakfast quietly, a look of worry across his face.

Rachel had let Finn take the lead while he was home, mostly because that's what made the kids feel the most comfortable. Now that he was gone she really didn't have a choice.

"Zack are you okay? Are you worried about going to daycare today? They have a really cool camp for the big kids!"

Zack continued to play around with his cereal, swirling the spoon back and forth. "I just don't want to go. What if the kids are mean or they make me play sports? I'm not good remember?"

Lainey looked up at Zack studying his face. "I don't want to go either. Can we stay home and wait for Big Guy to come back?"

"Sorry you two, but I have to go to work today too. I promise you will only be at daycare for a few hours and then tonight we are going to go to a restaurant for dinner! Won't that be fun?"

Lainey clapped her hands together in excitement, but Zack's expression didn't waiver. "Can I wear a fancy dress to dinner? That's what they do on TV!"

Rachel laughed. "Sure Lainey! That's a great idea! Now finish up while I make lunches and we will head out the door. Rachel grabbed the two lunch boxes out of the cabinet to make the lunches for the day before they left. As she was doing so she couldn't help but think about how different the last week of their lives had been from their old situation. Sure things weren't that great, but at least they were being taken care of.

They all marched out to Rachel's car in the driveway, lunchboxes in hand. Rachel still kept a close eye on Zack but he seemed compliant this morning.

The drive to the daycare was short. The kids were pretty quiet, staring out the window for most of the time. Finn called on their way to make sure everything was fine which made Rachel feel better. She knew he was nervous about today as well.

As they walked into daycare, Rachel held each child by the hand for reassurance. They needed it and she did too. Once inside they were greeted at the front desk by some overly cheerful workers. Zack wasn't amused.

"Well who do we have here?" the woman at the desk asked.

"This is Lainey and Zack Miller. It's their first day. I spoke with the director on Friday about them." Rachel patted their heads as she spoke.

The woman flipped through some papers on the desk. "A-HA! Here they are! Okay Lainey will be in room 5 down the hall and Zack can come with me outside with the older kids. Sound good?"

The woman looked down at Zack who just shrugged his shoulders. "Okay" he replied, still not looking her in the eye.

"Okay Zack make sure you behave and have fun ok? I'll be back after lunch to pick you up!" Rachel leaned down for a hug but Zack flinched and pulled away. Not wanting to push him, Rachel rubbed his arm and Zack seemed to be fine with that. He then followed the woman outside and it was Lainey's turn to find her classroom.

Lainey clutched Rachel's hand tightly as they walked down the hall. When they arrived at room 5, Lainey's teacher approached them.

"Hello! I'm Ms. Trish! Welcome to room 5! You must be Lainey!" Ms. Trish crouched down to Lainey's level which caused Lainey to hide her face behind Rachel's arm.

"Today's her first day at school. She's never been before but I know she was very excited this morning about coming, right Lainey?" Rachel tried to pry Lainey's face away from her arm but she wouldn't budge.

A few more minutes passed and Ms. Trish continued to try to coax Lainey away from Rachel. Lainey only clung to Rachel tighter and wouldn't budge. Finally Ms. Trish had a suggestion.

"Mrs. Miller do you mind if I just carry Lainey in here?" Rachel's eyes widened. She realized that her teacher didn't know about their situation.

"Oh my last name is Hudson. Lainey is staying with us for a while right Lainey?" At this point Rachel was peeling Lainey's fingers from her arms. "Lainey I need you to go with Ms. Trish and I will be back after lunch ok?"

Lainey finally broke and started to sob into Rachel's arms. "NO Lady! Don't leave me here!" she cried.

Rachel's eyes began to water. She had thought the kids would be excited to go play with other kids while she was gone, not thinking it was just another place they were being left at.

Rachel bent down and picked up Lainey into her arms. It was the first time Lainey had allowed her to do so. "Lainey, shhhh. Listen. I promise I will be back after lunch and you can play with the kids and all of these fun things ok? I'm going to go to work and come right back."

Lainey proceeded to sob and her blonde curls were now stuck to her face covered in tears. Ms. Trish signaled to Rachel that she was going to take her and she pulled her from Rachel's arms. Lainey began to scream at the top of her lungs. "LADY PLEASE! I'll be good!" Lainey was fighting to get out of Ms. Trish's arms while another worker came to lead Rachel out.

As Rachel walked away, she didn't feel right. The woman assured her that most kids cry on their first day and they would call her if she didn't calm down within a half hour or so.

Rachel made it to the car and took a deep breath. Her phone rang and she realized it was Ms. Kent. "Hello?"

"Hi Mrs. Hudson, this is Ms. Kent! How are you today?"

Rachel wasn't sure how honest she should be. "Well it's been rough but we are doing okay. Can I ask why you are calling? I've set up all of their appointments like you told me to so we are good to go." Rachel was nervous that they weren't doing an adequate job of being Foster parents. She still strived for perfection.

"Well," Ms. Kent continued, "I wanted to let you know that the children's mother has been located.

Rachel's heart sank. "Oh she has?" was all she could mutter.

"Yes, she had checked herself into the psych ward at Ohio General Hospital last week shortly after she left the children. She didn't indicate she had any next of kin and she gave a fake name, so no one was notified until she mentioned it and the records were crossed in our system. It was passed onto a judge over the weekend and she's been charged with Child Abandonment. Her parental rights have been terminated."

Rachel felt like she was going to pass out. She had just left a screaming Lainey inside of the daycare and came out to this phone call. "What do you mean terminated? Does that mean they can be adopted?" Her hands shook as she tried to concentrate on the words that would come next.

"Well yes and no. We can start to move forward with adoption proceedings, but I'll let you know now that their mom can appeal for her rights to be reinstated. If that happens, everything gets delayed. For now I'll send you the forms to start the adoption process and we will take this one step at a time. Try not to dwell on what might happen too much. Just keep your focus on the children for now."

"Okay Ms. Kent. Thank you so much for calling and I look forward to you contacting us again soon." Rachel hung up with Ms. Kent and immediately called Finn. He sent her to voicemail which meant he was with a client. Crap.

Rachel began to drive to her appointment, not really knowing how she would be able to focus on anything at all. This was their new normal though and she had to get a grip.

The phone rang again. She glanced down at the caller ID to see it was Carole calling. She sent her to voicemail realizing there was no way she would be able to talk to her right now without sobbing, for good reasons and bad. They really needed to tell their parents and Kurt about this. Honestly they have had no free time without the kids because when the kids were asleep, she and Finn were passed out.

* * *

Rachel's first appointment went quickly. Finn still hadn't called her back and she was trying hard not to be annoyed. They had both been off of work for a week and Finn has a lot of work to do as the owner. He takes pride in the business and he felt bad for basically abandoning it for a week even though things ran smoothly without him.

Her phone rang for the third time today, but this time it was the daycare calling.

Rachel picked up quickly. "Rachel Hudson speaking."

"Hi Mrs. Hudson, I'm calling in regards to Zachary. There has been an incident and we need you to pick him up."

It took Rachel a minute to process what was said because she was expecting them to be calling about Lainey.

"Why do I need to pick him up? I thought you would be calling about Lainey."

The woman hesitated. "Well Lainey is still crying off and on but we were giving her some time. However, Zackary punched another student and needs to go home immediately."

Rachel turned her car around immediately. "Punched someone? He punched someone? Okay, I'll be right there and I'll take both kids home with me. Please have them ready."

Rachel was hitting every red light on the way to the daycare. She shot Finn a quick text: **Daycare didn't go well. Meet me at home when you can.**

Rachel pulled into the daycare parking lot and hurried into the lobby. Zack was sitting there with a sullen look on his face, messy hair on top of his head. In that quick moment he reminded her of Finn. She could hear Lainey screaming down the hall.

"Oh Hi Mrs. Hudson. So sorry to have called you. We-"

Rachel quickly cut her off. "Can you please tell me why no one called me and Lainey is still screaming? I've been gone for over an hour. And I also would like to know what happened with Zack. Please have Lainey brought to me immediately." The workers obeyed her rules and began to scurry around. The director began to tell her what happened with Zack.

"Well Mrs. Hudson, Zachary punched another student on the playground. He won't tell us why and he gave the other student a bloody nose. Since it's his first day we will have to have a meeting to decide if he is able to come back tomorrow."

While this conversation was happening, Zack sat still in his chair staring at the ground. Soon his attention was drawn to the hallway where a screaming Lainey was being carried down the hall.

"LADY! LADY!" she screamed when she saw Rachel. Rachel rushed over to her and grabbed her out of the woman's arms. Lainey clung to Rachel, her face puffy and red from crying.

"Shhhh it's okay. I told you I would come back right?" Rachel began to rock Lainey back and forth while rubbing her back. Lainey began to relax almost instantly.

Rachel felt a wave of confidence roll over her as she looked at these two kids. Clearly they weren't ready for this. "So Zack is suspended? Can you even tell me what happened?" Rachel felt sorry for Zack. He looked so defeated.

"Well Mrs. Hudson," the director said, "we didn't exactly see what happened and Zack won't tell us his side of the story so we have to suspend him."

Rachel felt her blood boiling. "I specifically met with you and your team and stated the needs of both of my children. However, within two hours this was a failure. There's no need for a meeting," she said as she looked at the director. "We won't be returning tomorrow."

The director opened her mouth to speak, but Rachel really didn't want to hear anymore. She put her hand out towards Zack. "Come on Zack, let's head home ok?" Zack stood up and complied, grabbing Rachel's hand and followed her out of the door.

Lainey was resistant to let go of Rachel to get into her car seat. "Lainey, you'll be able to see me in the front seat ok? We will drive home and have some lunch."

"Okay," Lainey sniffled as she let Rachel buckle her in. Zack remained quiet in the other seat, not making eye contact with Rachel at all.

Before pulling out of the parking lot, she noticed she had a text from Finn. **Uh oh. I'll be home in an hour.** Thank You God.

Lainey quickly passed out on the drive home, exhausted from the solid hour of crying. Zack stared out of the window, emotionless. Rachel realized that they needed her. They needed consistency. She was going was going to have to stop working. There was no way she was sending them to another daycare. At least not for now.

Rachel really needed to figure out what happened with Zack. She hadn't given the director the chance, but honestly didn't want to be discussing it in front of him. He needed a chance to defend himself.

"Hey Zack, do you want to tell me what happened on the playground today? I'd really like for you to tell me what happened." Rachel looked at Zack in the rear view mirror. He didn't move but did mumble a soft "no" under his breath.

"Okay, you don't have to tell me now, but you need to tell me eventually so I can help you. I know you probably had a reason for punching someone, but that's not okay to do right? I promise I won't be mad but I can't help you if you don't tell me."

Zack still didn't move. Rachel tried not to get frustrated. She knows he has had it so rough, and they haven't had a lot of time to interact since he arrived. He mostly wanted to be alone and sometimes with Finn. Zack hadn't warmed up to her yet.

Rachel turned onto their street, relieved to be home. However, she noticed a car parked in front of their house. Burt and Carole were parked in front of their house. Oh no.

"Oh my God" Rachel moaned.

"What?" Zack asked as a nervous looked flashed across his face.

"Oh nothing, we just have visitors." Rachel knew she couldn't avoid this. Burt and Rachel would see her if she tried to drive past. Finn wouldn't be home for another hour, which left Rachel to tell them and have them meet the kids within the next few minutes. She wanted to throw up. This was not the day for this. She slowly pulled into the driveway as Carole waved and begun to get out of the car.

She was pulled from her thoughts by Zack questioning her. "Visitors? What kind? Are they here to take me to a new home? I'm sorry I punched that boy! I'm sorry!" Zack's bottom lip began to quiver as tears fell down his cheeks.

"Oh no no no no! Those are Finn's parents. His mom and dad! I just didn't know they were coming to visit that's all. I promise no one is taking you anywhere ok? They will want to meet you though. I promise they are super nice."

Zack wiped the tears from his eyes in an attempt to recover quickly. "But…but Finn said he didn't have a dad."

Rachel could see Carole starting to approach the car and didn't want her to open the door. "Well Zack, he has a stepdad. You are right, his real dad died. I'll explain it in a minute."

Rachel jumped out of the car, slamming the door shut. Carole rushed towards her. "Rachel! We called both you and Finn to tell you Burt had a meeting up here and we wanted to stop by! You two are impossible to get ahold of lately."

Rachel smiled nervously. "Well we've been a little busy, um, yeah….." Rachel searched for the words to say when she heard a scream from inside the car.

Rachel rushed over to Lainey's side of the car to find her screaming. She was disoriented and thought she had been left. Again.

Rachel quickly unbuckled Lainey who latched onto Rachel with her arms and legs. She kept screaming "Don't leave me lady! Don't leave!" over and over. Rachel turned around to see Carole and Burt, who was now out of the car, shocked with their mouths wide open.

Rachel just walked past them to Zack's side of the car to open it for him, Lainey still attached to her body like a Koala bear. A screaming Koala bear that is. She then opened the passenger door to grab her bag and head for the front door. Carole and Burt followed behind her, not saying a word.

The second the door opened, Zack took off running upstairs to his room. She heard the door slam loudly. Then she felt something wet down the front of her skirt. In all of this commotion, Lainey had peed her pants.

Burt and Carole stood in the foyer, unsure of what to do. Rachel had to go change Lainey and herself, but needed to at least say something before she headed upstairs.

"Well as you can see, we've been a little busy lately. Sorry we haven't called. It's been a little unpredictable and we wanted to wait until we felt settled to tell everyone. Zack and Lainey came to live with us last Monday. They are 7 and 4. Now I'm going to change the both of us because we got a little wet and I'll be right back."

Rachel didn't wait for a response. She quickly bolted upstairs with Lainey attached to the front of her body. As they entered Lainey's room, Rachel explained to her that she had to get her changed because she had an accident.

"I'm so sorry Lady! Please don't be mad!" Lainey was getting worked up again as Rachel put her down and began to strip her wet clothes off. "I'll wash them ok? I'll wash them!" Lainey tried to gather up the wet clothes but Rachel stopped her.

"No Lainey. That's my job. I'm not mad at you. It was just an accident. I'll wash your clothes. Now let's put some clean ones on and I can go get changed too." Lainey looked weary of Rachel's words, but handed over the wet clothes and went and picked out a dress to wear from her closet. After she was dressed they headed to Rachel's room.

"Lainey, why don't you hop up on my bed while I go in the bathroom to change quickly ok?" Rachel grabbed a pair of jean shorts and a t-shirt and quickly headed to the bathroom. She wasn't in there long, but came out to find Lainey passed out on Finn's pillow. Figuring she needed the rest, she left Lainey asleep and checked on Zack. He was quietly laying on this bed, the door was open a crack but she decided to let him be as well. Now downstairs she had to face her in-laws.

Burt and Carole were on the couch where Rachel had left them. She sat down herself and got ready to explain.

"Well as you can see, we have two children living with us. They came last Monday with very little warning and needless to say it's been rough. We didn't tell anyone because we were just all trying to adjust to the chaos and get settled before we had people coming to visit. Honestly, we haven't even had time to call anyone. We just went back to work today and as you can see I'm home early so it didn't go well. "

Rachel sat and waited for a response. She was honestly afraid of what was coming next.

Carole spoke first, a look of sympathy on her face. "Oh honey, we could have come to help you. You know that. I hate that you felt you couldn't tell us."

"No, it's not that we didn't want any help. The kids have had a very very hard time. They've come from a rough background which I won't get into right now. We didn't want them to have to deal with any additional people to acclimate to right away. Finn and I had actually planned on calling everyone this week."

"So are you adopting these kids or are they here temporarily?" Burt asked.

Oh no. Rachel had totally forgotten that Finn didn't know about their mom being charged with abandonment yet. The day had been so crazy and it seems like that phone call happened so long ago, even if it had just been a few hours. She didn't want them to know before Finn or the kids. She hadn't even thought about what to tell the kids.

"It's a wait and see situation for now" Rachel explained. That wasn't a total lie. "Why don't I make us some lunch and we can talk more about it. Lainey fell asleep and Zack is having some quiet time upstairs."

* * *

Everyone followed Rachel into the kitchen. They had some good discussions about the kids. Rachel didn't tell them too much about their history, just that their mom couldn't take care of them. 20 minutes later Rachel heard Finn walk through the door.

When Finn got to the kitchen he had a look of panic on his face. He scanned the kitchen for the kids but they weren't there. He did however, see the faces of his parents staring back at him. Shit.

Rachel stood up and hugged Finn tightly. He hugged her back and let her linger there for a while. He knew her morning had been rough and to top it off his parents had showed up unannounced.

"Hey, you ok? Where are the kids?" he asked while glancing over at his parents.

"Lainey is asleep on our bed. Zack's upstairs in his room. It's been a long day and it's barely lunch time."

Carole had a look of worry on her face. "Finn, Rachel has filled us in on everything and I must say what you two doing is very admirable. However, is this what's best?"

"It's not about us mom, it's about the kids. If you think we've had it hard, they've had it 1000 times harder."

"I know. I guess as your mom it's hard to see you two going through something hard yet again. I'm sure you are doing your best."

Rachel felt the need to speak up. "It has been hard. The kids wanted nothing to do with me. They miss their mom, they aren't used to a "normal" life so to speak. But we're only a week in. It's getting better. Slowly."

Just then Lainey started screaming from the bedroom. Rachel raced up before Finn could even catch her.

"Lady! Lady!" she said, her arms held out towards Rachel.

Rachel rushed over. It felt good to be needed and useful. "Hey Lainey girl! Did you have a good nap?"

"Yes. I just didn't see you." Just then Finn ran into the room. "BIG GUY! You're back!" Lainey leapt off the bed and jumped into Finn's arms.

"I heard you had a rough day huh?" Finn asked as he pushed the blonde curls out of her eyes.

"Yeah, it wasn't so good. " Lainey nuzzled into Finn's chest and looked perfectly content. Rachel rubbed the small of Lainey's back and smiled up at Finn.

"Why don't we go talk to Zack and then head downstairs to meet Finn's Mommy and Daddy? Sound good?"

The three of them headed into Zack's room. He still was sitting on his bed, fiddling with this shoe laces. Rachel sat on the bed with Zack as Finn stood behind her holding Lainey.

"Hey Zack," Rachel began, "Are you ready to talk? Finn is here now and we would like to hear what happened today at school."

Zack looked up to see Finn standing there too. He was starting to look to Finn for reassurance on things which was a good thing. "Those stupid boys kept saying it. They kept saying it and wouldn't stop!"

Rachel reached over to rub Zack's back. "What did they say? If it upset you then we can talk about why."

Zack's eyes began to tear but he was trying to be brave. "They asked me why I didn't look like you when you were walking in the parking lot. I said you weren't my mom and then they asked where my mom was." Zack looked down again, rubbing the edges of his shoelace between his fingers. "I said I didn't know and they laughed. They kept saying I probably didn't have a mom and I do! I do have a mom!" Zack's tears began to fall and Rachel's heart was broken.

"Oh Zack. I know that's hard when other kids don't understand. I think next time you need to talk to a teacher instead of hurting someone though. I know you were very very mad though. "

Zack looked up at Rachel and his face was pleading for her to say something comforting. For the first time he didn't look at her with hatred in his eyes.

"Maybe later we can think of what to say when kids ask you about your mom and then you won't be afraid of what to say next time?

Zack sniffled a bit. "Okay."

He didn't say much but Rachel and Finn both considered this progress. Zack was starting to view them as allies and not enemies. Rachel held out her hand to Zack and he grabbed it in return. They all headed downstairs to a waiting Carole and Burt.

As they approached them still sitting at the kitchen table, Rachel felt like they were a family unit for the first time. She was holding Zack's hand, Finn holding Lainey. It felt right. During the past week it hadn't felt like this yet. She smiled.

"Mom, Bert, this is Lainey." Lainey looked over at the two but continued to just cling to Finn.

"And this is Zack" Rachel said as she lifted his hand in a fake wave. He cracked a small smile.

Carole was beaming. Rachel felt relieved. "Rachel why don't I make these kids some lunch and you and Finn can catch up on the day for a few minutes?"

Rachel did need to tell Finn the news about the kid's mom and if she didn't get it in now who knew when they would have a free moment again.

"Sounds great! Zack why don't you help Ms. Carole and show her what you two like to eat. Lainey do you want to help?"

Zack let go of Rachel's hand and headed over to the fridge. Lainey was reluctant but Finn put her down and nudged her and she walked towards Carole.

"We will just be in the other room a few minutes and we aren't leaving the house ok?" Both kids nodded in agreement and Rachel and Finn retreated to the other room.

Rachel began to talk frantically to try and catch Finn up as quickly as possible. "Okay before I tell you all of the daycare drama, Mrs. Kent called me this morning." Finn's eyes grew wide. "Their mom has been found but her rights have been terminated by a judge. Unless their mom contests her rights, we can adopt them."

Finn was speechless. He wasn't expecting that to come out of Rachel's mouth. "Are you serious? And you didn't call me?"

"Shhhh. I did call you! It's not something I could exactly say over voicemail! Plus the kids don't know yet. The day has been crazy and I think I want them to go to counseling tomorrow before we say anything. We need help. "

Finn agreed. Rachel had a point. This had to go seamlessly. Well as seamless as it could be for these kids.

"Oh and I'm not going back to work. The kids need me and there is no way I'm having a repeat of today happen again. I'm figuring I can stay home this summer and by the time school starts in September they should be in a better place to handle it." Rachel waited for Finn to disagree. She never makes huge decisions like this without him but her instincts are telling her this needs to be done.

Finn grabbed Rachel's hand. "Are you sure? You think you can do it? I'm not doubting you at all, but you can't say this past week has been a cakewalk." Finn smiled. They both had been put through the ringer by this entire experience. "I can't believe we can adopt them. What if their mom fights it?"

Rachel was worried too. What if they have these kids for a long time and their mom eventually gets them back? "Well Mrs. Kent just said to take it one day at a time. The paperwork should be here within the next few days. Remember, it's at least six months without any hang ups."

Finn pulled her in for another hug. He was excited but reluctant to let himself feel too much. "I'm kind of scared Rach. Every day they are making such progress with us and what if it's all torn away?"

Rachel closed her eyes tightly. "I know. I'm so scared too. Today was crazy but you know what? I felt like a mom for the first time."

* * *

The afternoon went quite well. The family relaxed in the back yard and the kids warmed up to Carole and Burt.

The adults were up on the deck. Burt and Carole still had endless questions about the children.

"So do they ask for their mom a lot? I just can't imagine being left by your own mother." Carole looked out at the two children running around in the yard playing tag. "I mean they must be devastated."

"They are mom," Finn answered. "That's why Rachel and I decided to do this. They needed help and we are helping them. A week ago they wouldn't even let Rachel go near them and I was the only person they would trust."

That seemed like a lifetime ago to Rachel. 7 days can really change things, even just by the slightest of moments.

"It wasn't fun I can say that, but Finn was good about helping me remember why they weren't fond of me." She reached over and squeezed his hand. He winked back and gave her a small smirk.

Just then Lainey came tearing up the stairs. "Hey Big Guy! Are we going to go to the restaurant soon?"

Finn and Rachel had both forgotten they had promised to take the kids to dinner tonight. Finn hesitated. "Um, I don't know Lainey. I think you guys have had a long day."

Disappointment spread across Lainey's face.

"It has been a long day but we did promise a dinner and Lainey wanted to dress up right?" Rachel figured nothing could be worse than the daycare debacle from this morning.

Finn glanced at Rachel, questioning her. "Are you sure Rach?"

Burt chimed in. "We can come too if you'd like. To help? We'd love to spend more time with the kids."

"Dinner it is!" Finn shouted. "Come on Zack! Let's go get ready for our big night out!"

* * *

Lainey skipped into the restaurant holding Finn's hand. She was wearing a hot pink sundress that Rachel had bought her with new shiny silver sandals. Rachel had pulled her hair up into a bun because she requested "Princess Hair" and she was beaming.

Zack too had let himself get into the dinner. He was dressed in a nice polo shirt and khaki shorts and even asked Finn for some hair gel. She couldn't help but notice he tried to style it like Finn's. Rachel could see a hint of Zack allowing himself to be a kid and not allow his anger to take over in every situation.

The six of them were seated at a round table in the middle of the restaurant. The kids looked shocked at first, looking around from side to side.

"So have you two ever been here before?" Carole asked.

"No." Zack replied. "We didn't go to places like this. We ate in our hotel room."

Rachel wanted so badly to tell Carole to stop with the questions. She had been throwing little questions at them all day to try to figure out their situation, but Finn and Rachel knew that they shouldn't push the kids. They noticed little bits of information emerge within a conversation.

The night proceeded without incident. Finn and Rachel helped the kids order off of the menu and they both seemed to be having a good time. Conversation stayed at a superficial level. They chatted about the company, Burt's job, and Zack even asked Burt a question on his own.

Dinner was just finishing up and Finn was getting ready to pay the bill when a child at the table next to them spilled an entire bowl of grapes onto the floor. Before anyone could see, Lainey flew out of her chair and began to eat the grapes. She shoved one after the other onto the floor before Rachel caught up to her and scooped her up. The table next to them looked horrified.

Rachel sat her back down in her seat as Lainey continued to chew. Rachel pulled the remaining grapes out of her hand. No one at the table moved.

"Lainey, why did you go over there and eat those grapes? Weren't you full from dinner? And we don't eat food off of the ground okay". Rachel tried to remain calm as some of the patrons of the restaurant still stared at her.

"I don't know" Lainey mumbled, still trying to swallow the rest of her food.

"I'm not mad Lainey, I'm just trying to understand why. "

"Zack always says to eat all of the food in case we don't get any tomorrow. Right Zack?"

Carole's eyes began to well up with tears. Finn and Rachel just looked at each other with sadness.

"Be quiet Lainey! You are going to get mom in trouble!" Zack looked worried but stared down at his plate to avoid eye contact with anyone.

Rachel couldn't help but wonder. How long had these kids gone without food before? The way Lainey ran after that spilled food was instinctual. Like she needed it to survive even though her environment had completely changed.

Rachel spoke up. "Well no one is going to get your mom in trouble okay. Just know that you don't have to worry about food because you will always have some. You don't have to eat food off of the floor. If we go home later and you are hungry, ask for a snack."

"Okay," Lainey answered softly. "Can we leave now? I'm tired. Big Guy can I hold you?"

Finn laughed. "You mean can I hold you? Sure. Come here." Finn scooped her up and they all proceeded out of the restaurant. Carole grabbed Rachel's shoulder to get her attention and whispered "You guys are doing great. Don't worry." Rachel could only hope so.

* * *

 **Review please :) I love all of your feedback!**


	7. Chapter 7

_**Hello if anyone is still reading! It's been a while since I've updated. I had a huge lack of inspiration and I'm super busy with work. I hope to get some more stuff up in the next few weeks!**_

 _ **I don't own Glee, just the plot and the kids. Enjoy!**_

 _ **July 2026**_

Rachel and Finn sat across from Mr. Thorpe, the kid's new therapist. Rachel was trying to process what he was saying but was having a hard time grasping it all. Just when she thought she had heard the worst of it, something else would come up.

The kids had been in therapy for a few weeks now. They still hadn't talked to them about their mom being found and her rights being terminated. They took the advice of Mr. Thorpe to wait until they were a little more stable. The past few weeks had been anything but calm, but they had all sort of come to an understanding in the house. Some days were good, some days were bad, but every day those children felt safe and loved.

Finn reached over to grab Rachel's hand as they listened to the rest of Mr. Thorpe's session findings. This was their first family session where the kids waited in the lobby while they spoke with Mr. Thorpe alone.

"So as I was saying, Zack has revealed to me several things he's going to have to work though. From what he describes, their mother left them alone for long periods of time. It's hard to say, but I'm guessing at least 2-3 days, sometimes longer. He feels responsible for Lainey. He took care of her all of that time by himself."

Rachel felt the lump in her throat forming as she listened to him speak. Finn glanced over towards her and squeezed her hand even harder.

Mr. Thorpe continued to flip through his notes. "Zack even had to take care of his mom sometimes. He's quite a remarkable little boy, but he is very sad and conflicted. "

Finn decided to ask a question first. "Are we doing a good job? Are we helping him? He seems so mad and upset but we can't always figure out why."

Rachel felt relieved that he had spoken first. She eagerly waited for Mr. Thorpe's reply.

"Yes. From speaking with Zack he is beginning to trust you two, especially you Mr. Hudson. It's hard to give up all of that control because that's all he's had to rely on for so long. It's going to take a while."

Finn nodded in reply. There really wasn't much more to say to that answer.

"What about me? I know Zack is having a hard time bonding with me but what else can I do?" Rachel questioned.

"Well Mrs. Hudson, I feel everything you are doing is fine. You've told me you've backed off and let Zack come to you on his own which is wonderful. This gives him the control without feeling forced into situations he doesn't want to be in. However, you have to realize that if he forms a bond with you, it's a self-admittance that maybe his mom isn't coming back. Even though his mom wasn't the best, it's the only mom he and Lainey have ever known. What you provide for them is new and sometimes he's unsure about how to handle that."

Rachel took a deep breath as she thought about the weight of Mr. Thorpe's words. "Okay. I understand. I just want to make sure he feels safe and that I'm not mad at him for the way he acts.

"Oh I assure you Mrs. Hudson, you two are doing everything right. This is the most stable environment these kids have ever had."

Rachel blinked back the tears as she tried to absorb all of this information. "And what about Lainey? How is she doing?"

Finn continued to stare at Mr. Thorpe with a stoic stance. He was trying to be strong even though he felt like he was about to crack. "Yes, Lainey seems to be coming around quicker than Zack that's for sure."

"Well," Mr. Thorpe continued, "Lainey is younger and therefore the impact on her isn't as strong. She's very attached to Zack and his word holds truth over all others. She talks a lot about you Mr. Hudson. How big you are, and you're silly with her."

Rachel smiled but couldn't help but feel a little jealous at that statement. The kids have had a stronger bond with Finn from the beginning.

Mr. Thorpe could feel the tension in the room. "Oh and she's starting to bring you up more too Mrs. Hudson. She's fond of you picking out her pretty outfits and doing her hair. She also likes that you let her help you cook in the kitchen like a big girl. You have to remember she's experiencing things that most kids experience from birth. A doting mother who treats her daughter like a Princess. She's never had that. I can tell you she likes it."

Rachel felt a few tears fall from her face. She glanced over at Finn who was smiling back at her. They were doing okay.

"Do they ever talk about their mom?" Finn asked.

Mr. Thorpe flipped through some more pages of his notes to provide some answers. "Well they do, but it's more out of worry for her and not that they want to go back to her. They are worried she's in trouble for leaving them. From what I can gather she would tell them a lot that if they didn't behave or told people about her actions she would get in trouble. Zack's having a hard time with it mostly because the police had to get them at the supermarket where they were left. He thinks she's in jail or being prevented from seeing them."

"Okay so what do we do now?" Rachel asked. "Her rights have been terminated and barring any unforeseen circumstances we are going to try and adopt them. How do we approach this? I feel strongly we should be the ones to tell them. Not someone from the state and not their therapist. No offense."

"None taken" he answered.

"I agree with Rachel. We should tell them. I want them to feel secure and safe. I don't want them finding out in some strange office." Finn had really focused on the kids since they arrived. He had cut back his hours at work, letting other realtors take on more responsibilities. He never expected to feel such a strong bond with them, but now he can't imagine them being anywhere else.

Mr. Thorpe closed his notebook as Rachel and Finn waited for his reply. "I say bring it up with the moment arises. Be matter of fact and tell the truth. No lies about their mom or what has happened. And don't be surprised if you get some push back. They've been through a lot."

"Well thank you so much and we look forward to our next appointment. The kids will be by next week as usual." Rachel stood up to shake Mr. Thorpe's hand. Finn pressed his hand into Rachel's back to lead her out of the office where the kids were waiting.

* * *

A few days later the Hudson clan was getting ready for their big Fourth of July celebration. It was going to start off going into downtown Cincinnati for a city celebration followed by a BBQ at their house later on in the day. It would be the first time their entire family would meet the kids. So far Burt and Carole had been the only ones to meet them. Rachel and Finn both decided it was best if they settled in for a bit before everyone else came along.

The kids sat silently in the back of the car on their ride into town. Lainey was chattering in the background about all of the fun things they would get to do while there.

"Hey Lady! Did you say we can get a snow cone? A red one? And cotton candy too?" Lainey clapped her hands together waiting for Rachel to respond.

"Well let's just see what they have okay. We can choose one treat while we are here. Then you can have another back at our house after dinner. Sound good?" Rachel looked at Lainey in the rearview mirror who was currently contemplating Rachel's statement.

"Okay. Okay I think I'll choose a snow cone because its hot outside and I love snow cones!" Lainey turned to Zack. "What will you have Zack? A snow cone? You can have a blue one if you want!"

"Maybe," he replied. Over the past few weeks Zack had begun to open up more and engage in normal conversations every now and then. At other times he was still withdrawn and sullen. Sometimes they knew why, and other times it was a mystery.

"You okay buddy? Have you ever been to this celebration before?" Finn tried to get Zack to open up as often as he could, and he tended to respond better to him than Rachel.

Zack pulled his legs up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. "I think so. I think my mom brought us once when Lainey was little."

Finn always wanted to be careful when dealing with the topic of his mom. It still was a sensitive subject for both he and Lainey. "Well did you have fun when you came?"

"I don't remember." Zack turned to look out the window as they continued to drive.

"Well we are going to have fun today! We just have to stop at our booth we have for the business and then we can do some fun things before we go home. Remember all of our family is coming over today and then we are going to do fireworks in our yard tonight! It's going to be so fun!"

Lainey shrieked yet again from her seat upon hearing this news. Zack didn't show much excitement but Rachel and Finn were used to his lack of enthusiasm.

Once they arrived Finn and Rachel headed towards their booth for their company. They sponsored one every year to drum up business within the community. Puck and a few other employees had offer to run it so Rachel and Finn could spend time with the kids. Today is the first time anyone was meeting them.

Finn walked toward their booth as he held Zack's hand tightly. He was unsure of how he would behave in a large crowd and didn't want to risk him running off. From behind they looked just like any other father and son. Zack and Finn both had on khaki shorts. Finn wore a navy blue polo shirt while Zack had a red one.

Lainey happily skipped while holding hands with Rachel. She was dressed in an adorable red polka dot sun dress with a blue sash that had white stars on it. Rachel had done her hair in two braids with red bows on the end. Rachel of course was not to be left out and was wearing a navy sundress with a red belt. They looked picture perfect.

As they got closer they could see Puck and a few other agents in the booth handing out balloons to locals that said "Hudson Properties" on them. Finn waved to Puck to get his attention. They got within a few feet of the booth when Zack stopped dead in his tracks.

Finn looked down and pulled at his arm but Zack wouldn't budge. "Come on Zack. I want you to meet some of my friends and then we can go do something else ok?"

Zack just shook his head back and forth and refused to move. Rachel and Lainey caught up to them just in time for Zack to try and make a run for it. Finn still had ahold of his hand so he didn't go more than a few inches. He pulled Zack close and crouched down over him.

"Hey buddy. What's wrong? You can't run ok? Just tell me and I'll help you." Finn kept a tight grip on Zack as he felt him relax in his arms.

"The Police," Zack whispered.

Finn was puzzled as to what he meant. "What about the Police Zack?"

"They're going to take me away if I'm bad. They're right over there."

Finn followed Zack's gaze and realized that the Cincinnati Police Department was set up right next to their own booth, as they always were. Finn hadn't thought about the kids being concerned about it.

Finn pulled Zack over to a nearby bench, never losing contact with Zack's arms. He turned to face Zack as Rachel and Lainey made their way over to the Hudson Properties booth. Finn realized this was a big moment as Rachel was letting him handle this completely, knowing it was better to keep Lainey away right now.

"Zack, I promise the police aren't taking you anywhere. They are my friends and I've know them for years. The only time they take little kids is to help them. You needed help when they had you right?"

Zack leaned closer into Finn's side. "Yeah" he answered quietly. "But mom…..mom said they only take us away when we are bad or tell on her."

Finn struggled with what to say, because he and Rachel had always agreed to talk about their mom in a positive light, no matter how hard that was.

Finn let go of his tight grip on Zack and instead began to rub his back. "Well, sometimes yes kids are bad, but the police only come if they are doing something to hurt someone or if they are in danger. Are you going to hurt someone right now?"

Zack nodded his head "no".

"Are you doing anything dangerous?"

Once again Zack shook his head.

"Then I think you're fine. Those guys are my friends. I'm sure they'd love to meet you. Or we could just wave to them if that's all you want to do. What do you say?"

Just then Rachel looked over at the two and Finn waved to indicate they were fine. At that same moment Zack waved too. Rachel smiled and waved them over to the booth.

Zack stood up, took Finn's hand, and began walking. Finn wanted to pat himself on the back for how he handled that, but also knew with Zack things could turn on a dime.

Lainey began running towards them holding two balloons from their booth.

"Zack! Look I got you a balloon!" Zack grabbed the balloon and smiled, not letting go of Finn with his other hand. The two walked right past Rachel and Puck standing at the booth, and directly over to the Policeman.

"Hey Hudson!" Officer Banks yelled out. "Who do we have here?"

Word had gotten around town that Finn and Rachel had foster children with them, but he wasn't sure who knew and who didn't.

"Well, this here is Zack and that little girl is Lainey." Lainey waved, not deterred by the Police Officer's presence. Zack looked up at Finn and clenched his hand tighter. He managed to lift his other hand quickly to gesture to Officer Banks.

"Very nice to meet you! Would you like to sit in the back of my police car?"

Lainey's eyes grew wide and she grabbed Rachel's leg tightly. Zack began to pull away from Finn's grip.

"Oh no thank you Officer Banks," Rachel replied quickly. "We just wanted to say hi before we moved on to the other activities but it's nice to see you!"

They quickly ushered the kids into their own booth and away from Officer Banks. Finn leaned down and gave Zack a hug. "You were very brave buddy. Very brave. And see how nice Officer Banks was?" Zack peered over Finn's shoulder towards the Policeman who had now moved on to talking to some other patrons.

This entire time Puck had been watching the two deal with the Zack and Lainey. "Hey guys! Can I meet these cute kids or what?"

"Zack and Lainey, this is our friend Noah." Rachel explained. "He works with Finn and I selling houses! He has a little girl that's your age Lainey. She's coming over later."

Lainey smiled but remained quiet and Zack was still leery of the policeman that was so close to their location.

"Can we go get a snow cone now?" Lainey asked.

"Sorry Puck, I'll explain later. Thanks for manning this booth for us today so we can hang with the kids. They just aren't used to all of this yet." Finn shook Puck's hand and the four walked out towards the snow cone booth.

* * *

The town fair had been more overwhelming for the kids than fun. They loved the snow cones but the crowds and the uncertainty were too much for them. Rachel and Finn were stressed the entire time worrying about one of them having a meltdown or Zack trying to run. After an hour they decided to go home to set up for the family cookout.

They arrived back home just as Carole and Burt had pulled into the driveway. They agreed to come early to help set up and prep the food. Rachel and Finn always appreciated how helpful they were even though they lived two hours away.

Out back, Finn took the kids out into the yard to set up the small swimming pool for the kids. Lainey and Zack were stretching out the small pool as Finn went to get to hose to begin filling it up. Just then they heard a shout from up on the deck.

"Uncle Finn!" Warner shouted as he made his way down the steps and into the yard. Finn ran towards him and picked him up, throwing him up into the air and catching him again. Warner laughed and hugged Finn tightly.

"Hi buddy! I've missed you! Where are Daddy and Papa?" Warner pointed towards the house where his fathers were standing near the window, Rachel behind them speaking into their ears and pointing down to the yard.

Zack and Lainey had now abandoned the pool, making their way toward Finn. Warner looked down at the two. "KIDS!" he shouted. "Kids are here!" Zack and Lainey continued to stare as Warner was being held by Finn.

Lainey ran over to Finn and grabbed his leg. "Big guy I want you to hold ME," she declared as she glared up at Warner.

Finn reached down to pick Lainey up with his free arm and now had a kid on each hip. Lainey wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him. "Big guy," she whispered, "who is this boy?"

He quickly realized that this was both strange for them to see another child in the house, but also having to share him with another child was completely foreign to them. They had been the center for their world for the past month and this was something new.

At that moment Rachel, Blaine, and Kurt made their way down off of the deck towards the group.

"Zack and Lainey did you meet Warner? He's our nephew." Rachel walked over and took Warner out of Finn's arms and into hers. Warner began to wave to the kids. "And this is Finn's brother Kurt and his husband Blaine. Warner is their son." Kurt and Blaine gave a small wave, but the two kids did not reply.

Zack and Lainey just stared over at the group, Lainey hugging Finn's neck tighter to show she needed reassurance. "It's okay Lainey. They are part of our family and are very excited to meet you guys. Warner loves kids and we never used to have any here before." Zack scooted closer to Finn, keeping his eyes on Rachel and Warner the entire time.

"I don't want you to hold him. You either Lady," Lainey scowled as she pointed to Rachel.

Rachel tried to fight the overwhelming feeling that hit her. She wanted to hand Warner over and scoop Lainey up, but also didn't want to give in to her behavior. Why was every day still so hard? Yes, it's only been a month but she had felt like they were all making great strides. It was sometimes easy to forget about the life they lived before they arrived. Lately they had been able to have some days where things went smoothly. Other days like today seem to present with problem after problem.

Finn spoke first. "Lainey that's not nice. We can hold Warner too. He's our nephew and we love him and he loves us."

Not satisfied, Lainey burst into tears. "Nooooo, I want lady to put him down!"

Rachel began to turn to hand Warner off to Kurt, but Finn eyed her and shook his head no. "Lainey, I'm holding you and you are fine. Just because Rachel is holding Warner doesn't mean she can't hold you too when she's done ok? Now maybe Warner would like to help us fill the pool huh?" Rachel put Warner down and he grabbed Finn's hand. Finn began to walk off before Lainey had a chance to protest. Zack slowly trailed behind them.

"Well that was interesting." Kurt rubbed Rachel's shoulder as they all watched the kids and Finn wrangle the hose and pull it towards the pool.

"Yeah, it hasn't been easy but they've come so far." Rachel waved at the group of kids as they walked by. "The two of them didn't want anything to do with me at first, so Lainey being jealous of Warner sort of felt good. Does that make me look bad?"

Blaine reached over to hug her. "Not at all. You and Finn went into this for all of the right reasons and we are so proud of you. We were so excited to be able to come up here and meet them. Parenthood looks good on you both."

Rachel smiled as she heard commotion from up on the deck. Her dads. Rachel hadn't really thought about the kids meeting the rest of the family all in one day but hopefully the Warner hurdle was the only one to get over this afternoon.

"Dad! Daddy! Hi!" Rachel greeted them each with a hug and a kiss. She hadn't spoken to them much since the kids had arrived. There hadn't been a ton of time, but she didn't want any more negative feedback from them either. Rachel hoped that after they met the kids their attitudes would change. Burt and Carole had come around, so hopefully they would too.

"So how about we meet these kids huh?" Hiram asked.

Rachel walked the both of them over to the pool that was now slowly filling with water. "Zack and Lainey, I would like you to meet my dad's Hiram and LeRoy."

Lainey gave a small wave and wandered over towards Finn. Zack just looked at Rachel with a worried look. "Why does everyone around here have TWO dads?"

Here we go again, Rachel thought to herself. "Zack we've talked about this before, how families look different right? I have two dads, Finn had a dad that died but has a new dad, you have a mom..."

Zack's face fell slightly. "Sorry."

Rachel grabbed Zack's hand. "Its fine we just have to remember next time ok? Can you say hi to my dad's? They've been waiting to meet you."

Zack waved hello and then returned to the pool. "Sorry it's been kind of a rough day," Rachel explained.

"Oh I'm sure they have had to meet a lot of people today. It's fine. They'll warm up to us I'm sure." LeRoy replied.

* * *

The night went on pretty seamless from that point on. Puck, Quinn, and Ashley arrived later on and surprisingly Lainey and Ashley hit it off and had been playing together for most of the afternoon. All of the kids took turns jumping into the pool and Zack even cracked a smile a few times.

All of the adults gathered on the deck to watch the kids below before dinner was ready. Carole was the first to approach the question. "So Rachel, have you found out anything about the kids? Are they going back with their mom eventually? Or are things looking more permanent?"

Rachel took a deep breath as Finn rubbed the small of her back. "Well their mother's rights have been terminated, so barring any unforeseen circumstances, we are starting the process of adopting them." Rachel tried to gauge the crowd on their reactions. Everyone smiled.

Carole squealed as tears began to well up in her eyes. "I am so excited for you two. I know we don't know the children well but you are both so wonderful with them. They are going to thrive. What did they say about it?"

Finn cleared his throat. "Well we haven't told them yet. We were advised by their therapist to sort of take that slow. They aren't ready and we don't want to set back the progress we've made. They love their mom and miss her even though she really did a bad job of taking care of them. So we would like you all to not say anything about it ok? It's still day by day for us around here."

"Oh of course we won't" Carole replied. "You two have really stepped up and done a wonderful job. I can tell a difference from when we saw them just a few weeks ago. They seem much more relaxed and in tune with you both."

Just then Ashley and Lainey came running up the stairs, water dripping off of their legs as they left each step. "Towels!" they both shouted.

Finn and Puck both got their towels and scooped them up. "Thank you Big Guy!" Lainey said as Finn rubbed the water off of her face.

Ashley turned to Lainey. "Why do you call Finn 'Big Guy'?"

"Well he is BIG and a GUY. That's why." Lainey reached up and gave Finn a pat on the head.

Finn smiled as he continued to dry her off. "I am very big aren't I?"

Quinn's eyes grew wide. "I'm so sorry Rachel. She's just curious."

"Oh its fine don't worry! She's not the first one to ask that." Rachel laughed. "She calls me Lady and there's not a whole lot of meaning behind that either.

Soon Zack came up the stairs holding Warner's hand to make sure he didn't fall. Rachel loved how protective he was of little kids, even though they weren't too sure about Warner when he arrived.

"Finn why don't we get the kids cleaned up and ready for dinner and fireworks?"

Zack grabbed Rachel's hand as they walked inside to change. It's these small little gestures that seem insignificant to most but are signs of huge milestones in their household.

* * *

The crowd gathered on the Hudson's front lawn, Rachel had bought sparklers for all of the kids to use before the local High School fireworks started at 9pm. Their house had the perfect viewing spot since it was close by. Finn had set up the lawn chairs in a half circle and everyone grabbed a seat. The kids were up way past their bed time but all of the parent's agreed it was a special occasion for them all.

Lainey and Zack were giddy with excitement. It was the first time they both looked relaxed and excited about something. Zack was normally reserved and held back his emotions. There he was, standing next to Finn with a huge grin on his face while he waited to be handed a sparkler of his own.

"Okay kids, we have to be very safe with these sparklers ok? You can't go near any other kids and once its burned off you have to put it in the bucket of water ok?" Finn handed each kid a sparkler. Rachel was helping Lainey, Quinn with Ashley, and Blaine with Warner.

"Have you ever done one of these before Zack?"

"No, but I've seen it on TV before." Zack held the sparkler in his hand as Finn lit the top. Sparks began to fly immediately and Zack's face lit up with amazement. The other three kids had similar reactions, with Lainey letting out a scream of excitement when hers went off. Finn glanced over at Rachel who had a huge smile on her face as she helped Lainey hold her firework. He knows this has all been so hard for her, but the rewards were immeasurable.

"Big guy look at me!" Lainey yelled as she twirled her sparkler in the air.

"Wow Lainey that's awesome! Hey Zack, why don't you try writing something in the air before your sparkler burns out? Try writing a Z." Zack followed the direction and began writing his name in the air.

"Wow that's cool! You can really see it!" Zack exclaimed, not taking his eyes off of the sparkler.

Rachel felt tears well up in her eyes. These were the moments that these kids needed. Moments where they were allowed to be kids without worrying about when they were going to eat again or when their mom would come home. These are the small memories that they can look back upon and smile. They'll always remember that Fourth of July when everyone came over and they played in the pool and did sparklers in the front yard. Today was a good day despite some minor challenges. She reminded herself of their meeting with the Therapist. Make them feel save and loved. That's what they were doing and would continue to do.

After they ran out of sparklers, the kids began to settle down to get ready for the fireworks show. Lainey cuddled onto Finn's lap, resting her head on his chest. He rubbed her head as he talked to Puck and Quinn about the housing market. Even at four years old she looked so little in Finn's arms sometimes.

Zack actually had begun to show an interest in spending time with Burt, who was currently talking to him about building a car.

"Maybe you can come down for a visit and you can come to my shop and I can show you. Finn used to help me when he was younger so now I need a new helper. Does that sound good?" Burt ruffled Zack's hair as he spoke.

"Yes! Rachel can we?" Zack asked as he turned to Rachel for approval.

"Of course! We can go visit in the next couple of weeks before school starts."

Rachel hadn't seen Zack this excited about anything. Zack yawned as he left Burt's side for Rachel's. "Rachel are the fireworks starting soon? It's late."

"Just a few more minutes buddy. I promise it will be worth the wait."

The fireworks began to go off which made Zack jump into Rachel's lap. "Did that startle you? You're okay." Rachel grabbed Zack around the waist to pull him onto her lap. He settled right down and looked up in awe at the bright light show overhead. Lainey was smiling even though she had her ears covered from the noise. Finn held her tight and was talking her through it.

After the grand finale everyone clapped and cheered. Zack and Lainey even joined in.

After everyone helped clean up, they were all packed up and ready to leave. The kids seemed sad to see everyone go.

"When will they come back?" Lainey asked.

"Oh probably not for a while but we can go visit them soon ok?" Rachel walked the two upstairs as Finn locked up downstairs. "Everyone in their pj's because it is WAY past your bedtime."

Zack and Lainey each ran into their rooms and began to change. Lainey was struggling to undress so Rachel helped her into her nightgown. "Did you have fun today Lainey?"

"Yes Lady. I had fun and saw the sparklies!" Lainey yawned as she crawled into bed.

"Oh those sparklies were very pretty weren't they? Good night Lainey, I love you." Rachel caught herself on her last words but didn't regret them. She was looking down at the girl who will one day be legally hers. She loved her. Lainey just signed and drifted off to sleep.

Finn had made his way into Zack's room, who was already changed and in bed. Finn could tell his eyes were heavy.

"Hey Finn, how long am I going to stay here?" Oh no, Finn thought. Where is Rachel? He didn't want to answer this alone.

"Ummmmm ...Well Zack, it's probably going to be a while."

Zack didn't look surprised, but didn't look happy either.

"Oh".

Finn rubbed the back of his neck, unsure of how to handle this. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, I just will miss everyone when I go back to my mom's." Zack pulled the blankets up to his chest and rolled to his side.

Finn rubbed Zack's back in slow circles. "We can worry about that tomorrow ok? Did you have a fun day today?"

"Yeah I did. The fireworks were the best! Did Rachel tell you your dad wants me to help him build a car?!"

Finn smiled as he felt Zack's body relax under his hand. "No I didn't! You know he taught me how to build a car too but I was much older. You're lucky you get to learn how to do it at your age."

Zack yawned loudly as Rachel walked into the doorway.

"Good night Zack. Sweet Dreams!" Rachel called from across the room.

"Night Rachel. Today was fun."

Finn exited the room to meet Rachel in the hallway and head to the bedroom.

"Zack asked when he's going back to his moms," Finn blurted out.

"I told Lainey I loved her." Rachel replied.

They both stood and started at each other, each having confessed something completely different.

"Did she say she loved you back?" Finn asked.

"No, I think she was already out when I said it. It just came out."

Finn could see the panic in her eyes as she sat down on the bed. "Hey, why are you upset about this?"

"What if she never loves me back Finn? What if they both never love me back? Instinctually I feel myself becoming more of their mother every day. The old Rachel is gone. I don't ever want to be her again. "

Finn pulled her in for a hug. "Stop worrying so much. I know it's hard but they are really coming around. We are going to have to talk to them soon though because Zack's still expecting to go back to her at some point. He did say he'd miss everyone though."

Rachel pulled away and laughed. "Awww that's so sweet. I finally am seeing the softer side of him and I love it. We're doing okay right?"

"Yeah we're doing okay."

 **Thanks for reading!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello! Sorry it's been so long between updates! Life gets in the way but I'm hoping to get back on track with this! I only own the plot, Zack and Lainey. Everything else isn't mine! Enjoy!**

August

Rachel paced back and forth as she waited for Mrs. Kent to call her. Today was the court hearing to permanently sever Julia Miller's parental rights for Lainey and Zack. If she showed up in court to fight it, not only could she possibly get them back, it would delay things overall. Since the Fourth of July, Rachel had noticed huge improvements with their emotional well-being. Zack could now be taken in public and trusted not to run off. Lainey now let Rachel fully take care of her even if Finn was around. Their little family was starting to feel permanent and Rachel was terrified it would be taken away.

Finn had gone into work to meet with some clients. Rachel still hadn't returned to the office since the first week the kids had arrived. She was hoping to go back part time in September when the kids returned to school. She and Finn had both agreed to just take it day by day. Their main focus was keeping the kids in a stable environment where they felt safe. So far they've been able to do that.

The kids were downstairs playing with their new Lego sets her dads had sent over yesterday. She decided to keep herself busy upstairs by cleaning up the kids rooms before the headed down to Lima tomorrow to visit Burt and Carole, her dads, and Kurt and Blaine. Ever since Burt had invited Zack to come help him in his shop, Zack would not stop talking about it. They had to wait until their schedules allowed and their routine was more settled, but tomorrow they would head down to Lima for the weekend. The kids were excited to see everyone and had already begun to pack their suitcases for the trip.

Rachel approached Zack's bed to check through his suitcase. As she sorted through the pile of clothes inside, she found five pairs of pajamas, underwear, and one shirt. She laughed to herself as she pictured them getting to Lima and Zack literally not having any shorts to wear. She gathered some extra clothing from his dresser as she heard Finn arrive home downstairs.

"Big Guy!" she heard Lainey shout and the scurry of the kids running around made her smile. This is how she pictured parenthood to be. Well, for the most part.

Rachel approached the bed to put the remainder of Zack's clothing in his suitcase when her foot hit something underneath the bed. She bent down and pulled out one of Finn's old duffle bags from the garage. What was it doing under Zack's bed?

She placed it up onto the bed next to the suitcase and slowly unzipped the bag. Rachel gasped as she saw what was inside. The stench hit her like a slap in the face.

Food. The bag was filled with food. Some of it was prepackaged things like chips and packs of crackers. There were also old halves of sandwiches, pieces of fruit, and juice boxes. What was this? How had she not smelled it before?

Rachel gagged as she zipped it up. "Finn! Finn can you come up here please?" she called. She needed to show this to him before they confronted Zack. What she wasn't expecting was for Zack to be directly behind Finn as they walked into the room.

Zack was giggling as he ran behind Finn into the bedroom. His laughter faded once he saw the bag on the bed and Rachel standing beside it.

"Hey what's up Rach? Zack decided to chase me up the stairs didn't you buddy?" Finn patted Zack's back and tried to read Rachel's face. She wasn't smiling.

"Um, Zack. Honey I found this bag under your bed. Can you tell me why it's here? What is it for?" Rachel handed the bag to Finn who immediately squished his nose up at the smell.

Zack stood in front of them speechless. He didn't want to get in trouble.

"Um, I don't know." Zack began to swing his arms nervously as he waited for Finn and Rachel to react.

Rachel approached Zack slowly. Whatever this was, she had to be careful how she handled it. "Zack, listen to me. I'm not mad and you aren't in trouble, I just need to know why you had a bag of food under your bed. Are you hungry after we feed you? Do you need an extra snack sometimes? If you do you can always ask."

Tears began to form in Zack's eyes. "You'll be mad when I tell you. You will!" he said as the tears now began to run down his face.

Finn crouched down in front of Zack, lifting his head to look him in the eye. "No, no we won't. We will be mad though if you lie and don't tell us the truth."

Just then, Lainey came skipping into the room. "Ew! It stinks in here!"

Rachel didn't want Lainey in here for this. "Lainey, can you go check your suitcase and make sure you packed all of your favorite dresses? Carole said she might take us to a fancy lunch and you need to have a pretty dress ok?"

Without thinking twice Lainey skipped across the hall to her room. Crisis avoided.

Zack now began to sob uncontrollably. Rachel pulled him up onto the bed and sat next to him. Finn put the bag of food out into the hall and stood in front of them.

"Zack, please tell us what that bag is for. You can't be keeping food like that under your bed. It's going to make your room super smelly and we don't want that right? I promise we just want to know why you are hiding food in a bag. That's all."

Zack tried to catch his breath as he spoke. "It's...for...when...we go...back ...to mom's house."

Rachel's mouth fell open as she tried to fight the tears from coming. She and Finn had decided not to bring anything up until things were more final, which would hopefully be today. The kids still went to therapy and they wanted to talk to them about adoption after their mom's rights were officially terminated.

Finn stepped forward and grabbed Zack's hands. "Buddy, why would you need to take food back to mom's house?"

Zack's tears began to fall again. "Because mommy doesn't always have food and I don't want us to be hungry anymore."

Finn picked Zack up into his arms. Even after the kids living with them for over two months, they still learned new things about their past that shocked them. Poor Zack was hoarding food in his room to take back to his mother to feed the family.

Lainey ran into the room to see Finn hugging Zack. "Hey I want a hug too Big Guy!"

Rachel rushed over and scooped her up to try to distract her. "Can I hold you instead? Zack needed a super tight hug from Finn right now."

Lainey smiled and hugged Rachel's neck.

"I have an idea!" Rachel exclaimed. "Why don't we have an indoor picnic tonight? It's super special and we haven't had one in a long time!"

Zack lifted his head and wiped his eyes. "What's an indoor picnic?"

Finn placed Zack back onto the ground before speaking. "Well, it's where we put blankets on the floor and eat pizza and have a family talk about important stuff. Then we watch a movie. Sound good?"

Both children shouted "YES!"

"Why don't you two go downstairs and pick up your Legos before dinner ok?" Rachel asked trying to distract the children so she could have a moment with Finn.

The kids took off downstairs to clean up and Rachel took a deep breath. "We have to tell them Finn. Tonight. Mrs. Kent should be calling soon and if everything goes as planned we have to tell them. Maybe it will be a good time since we are going out of town and they'll be distracted for the next few days. And please throw that bag away."

Finn glanced down at the bag of food and back to Rachel. "I just, I mean how awful Rach. How awful that even though his life was so chaotic, Zack still wants to take care of his mom and sister. He's going to be devastated."

Rachel knew Zack would not take this well. He loved his mom unconditionally. He mentioned her often and although he stopped trying to escape constantly, Rachel was aware that Zack fully believed his mom was coming back. She had in the past so why wouldn't she now?

"I know. We just have to sit them down and explain it to them. No sugar coating it, no lying. We have to remember what their therapist said and be ready for any reactions they might have. Now let's just go on as normal and hopefully my phone will ring soon and we can get this over with."

* * *

The four of them went along with their day. The kids were excited to set up for the picnic and were laying every quilt in the house down on the living room floor. Finn had ordered the pizza and the indoor picnic was soon underway. Rachel glanced at the clock. 4:45 pm. Surely court was out for the day. Mrs. Kent had told her their hearing was at 2 pm. Rachel started thinking the worst. What if their mom showed up and the proceedings took longer because something had changed?

She found herself pacing around the living room as the kids began to chat about which movie to pick.

"Hey," Finn said as he caught her by the arm stopping her in her tracks. "What's going on?"

"She hasn't called Finn. It's late and she hasn't called." Rachel began to walk away from Finn when her cell phone began to ring. She quickly grabbed it off of the table and ran upstairs so the kids wouldn't hear her conversation.

"Hello? Mrs. Kent?"

"Hi Mrs. Hudson. So sorry I haven't called. I had an emergency to deal with right after court."

Mrs. Kent paused and Rachel could feel her heart beating out of her chest.

"So Julie Miller did not show up for court today. All attempts to locate her have failed so the judge granted the motion to terminate her rights and start adoption proceedings."

Rachel felt her knees weaken a bit and she sat down on the ground of the hallway to steady herself. Was this really happening?

"Mrs. Hudson? Are you there?"

"Yes, yes I'm here," Rachel replied. "I'm sorry I just was expecting bad news since I didn't hear from you but this is wonderful."

"Those kids are very lucky to have you. Now everything will keep going in terms of therapy and my visits but the adoption process will officially begin. I'll send over some paperwork on Monday for you to sign. Now go enjoy your weekend ok?"

Rachel felt a tear fall down her cheek. "We will Mrs. Kent. Thank you so much for all of your help."

Rachel felt sick. She had that horrible pit in her stomach feeling that you get when you're about to do something terrible or sad. Like walking into a funeral knowing you're going to cry the entire time. She was getting ready to break those kids' hearts in two and there was nothing she could do to take their pain away.

Zack and Lainey sat innocently on the blanket, chewing away at the cheese pizza they had both requested. She noticed Finn staring at them. Part of his face displayed pity for them, but in his eyes she saw hope. Although she had to break their hearts, she also got to begin a new journey with them as their mom.

Rachel sat down next to the kids and paused the movie that was playing on the TV. Finn looked over at Rachel and could see she had tears in her eyes. He wasn't sure if they were the good kind of bad, but she seemed to be holding it together well for the moment. Rachel gave him a subtle thumbs up to let him know things were good. Finn felt the tears flood into his eyes but tried to keep them at bay. He knew what they had to do right now and it wasn't going to be easy.

Once the movie was turned off the kids put the pizza down onto their plates.

"Why did you turn it off Lady?" Lainey asked as she wiped her hands on her napkin.

"Well we have something important to talk about. Remember at our indoor picnics we like to talk about things that are important and I need you guys to pay close attention ok?"

Both kids nodded their heads yes as they sat to face Rachel. Finn sat down beside her so they could see them as a united front vs. just Rachel delivering the bad news.

"Well, we got a very important phone call today. It's about where you are going to live. And it's about your mom."

The kids' faces lit up with excitement which in turn broke Finn's heart. Rachel felt her soul crush a little seeing their reactions.

"Our mom called? Is she coming to get us?" Zack stood up and turned to go upstairs.

"Zack wait!" Rachel called. "We aren't done and I need you to sit back down."

"But I want to go pack up my stuff! She'll probably be here soon!"

Finn reached out and grabbed Zack's hand, softly pulling him back to the ground. Lainey sat frozen and you could tell she had no idea what to think.

"No Zack," Finn said softly, "Your mom isn't coming to get you. Your mom...she..."

Rachel stepped in "Your mom loves you two so much. But she's having some trouble taking care of you. I know you miss her a lot and wish you could see her again and maybe someday you can. There was a judge today who had to make a big decision about where you two should stay to be safe since you can't go back to your mom. The judge decided that you guys are going to live with us now. "

"All of the time? Forever?" Zack asked.

Rachel could tell by his body language that he was about to break. Zack started to curl his body up into a ball as he pulled his knees up to his chest.

"Yes, forever. Finn and I would like to adopt you. And I know you miss your mom and you'll always love her and she'll always love you."

Zack began to cry, but surprisingly no anger was present. Yet.

Finn moved closer to Zack to rub his back. He turned to look at Lainey who also began to sob.

"But what about momma? I miss her!" Lainey cried.

Rachel pulled Lainey into her lap, wrapping her arms around the small girl as she wept. "I know you miss her and we can still talk about her all of the time, but you guys are going to stay with us now. We love you and want you to be in our family if that's ok."

Zack's body tensed up as he raised his head.

"This is your fault!" Zack said as he pointed to Rachel. "You told on me didn't you? That I saved the food to bring to mom's house! Why did you tell?" Zack screamed in Rachel's face.

"Hey Zack, no one told buddy." Finn pulled Zack onto his lap. "We weren't even mad about that, just confused. You can't go back to your mom's because your mom isn't at your house. She still loves you but she can't take care of you anymore."

Zack looked at Finn like he was the most evil man in the world. It was then Zack released a cry that Rachel had never heard before. It was the sound of the utmost disappointment and sadness that she had ever heard. Finn held Zack as his body shook from his cries.

"I don't want a new family! I want my mom back!"

In response Lainey became hysterical in Rachel's arms, although Rachel wasn't sure Lainey fully understood what was going on. Lainey crawled up to put her head on Rachel's shoulder as she cried. Rachel hugged Lainey tightly and she felt her own tears finally spring free.

"I know you guys are so sad and it's okay to be sad. We love you and we want to help you feel better ok." Rachel rubbed Lainey's head as the small girl whimpered.

"But what about my mom? Will we see her again? Can we see her? What if she comes back?" Zack continued to let Finn hold him despite his mood.

"Well we don't know. All we know is we are going to take care of you and love you every day. I know you miss your mom and you didn't ask for a new family, but we are here for you always." Zack continued to cry as he laid his head onto Finn's arms to relax. "Rachel and I promise to always love you and take care of you no matter what ok? No matter what happens."

The four of them sat in silence on the floor as Finn and Rachel let the kids take the lead. Lainey continued to lay her head on Rachel's shoulder but her crying had ceased. Zack still had tears falling from his cheek as he laid in Finn's lap. Rachel and Finn just stared at each other, waiting for something to break the silence.

Zack was the first to speak. He sat up quickly and wiped the tears from his face. "Can we still go see Burt tomorrow?"

"Of course we can," Finn said. "Why wouldn't we still go?"

Zack shrugged his shoulders. "Because everything is different now."

"Actually Zack, everything is the same as it was before, except now you are staying here forever. We can still go to Lima tomorrow to visit everyone. I know they are all very excited to see you guys again! Burt said he has a brand new car that he needs help working on tomorrow and he's been waiting for you."

Zack's eyes lit up, and for a moment you could see that he wasn't thinking about the sad events that had just occurred.

"How about we turn the movie back on and finish our dinner?" Rachel asked as she sat Lainey back down onto the blanket. Zack sat back down in front of his plate as Finn turned the movie back on.

Rachel and Finn sat behind the kids as they resumed their dinner activities.

"So what happens now? What do we do?" Finn grabbed Rachel's hand waiting for an answer.

"I don't know Finn. One minute they were devastated and hysterical and now they are fine. I don't think that was the last of it, but maybe their sense of routine and normalcy here will help them cope. Even though we gave them bad news, they know they can still watch a movie and eat dinner and sleep in their own beds. It's stable here."

Finn knew Rachel had a point. Hopefully all of the hard work they've put into helping the kids will pay off. The less pain the kids had to be in the better.

The night was strangely calm from that point on. Dinner finished up, as did the movie. All four of them headed upstairs. Finn took charge of the showering of the kids while Rachel triple checked their bags for the trip. This was the first time they were traveling with them and she wanted to be thoroughly prepared. She was just zipping up Lainey's pink suitcase when both kids came running into the room.

"Storytime!" Lainey screamed as she ran towards her bookcase.

Finn and Rachel read the kids a story every night. The kids never wanted to read the same book, so Finn would read to one and Rachel the other. Tonight though, Zack climbed up on Lainey's bed with her.

"Are we reading together tonight Zack?" Rachel asked as she climbed up onto Lainey's bed as well. She could hear Finn in the hallway bathroom cleaning up.

"Yes can we read the same book tonight? I'll let Lainey pick."

Lainey clapped her hands wildly. "The crayon book! The crayon one! Lady does the funniest voices when she reads it!"

"The crayon book it is!" Rachel grabbed the book off the shelf and jumped back onto the bed which made the kids laugh.

"Lady I almost fell off when you jumped!" Lainey tucked her legs under the covers. "Here Zack you sit next to me and Lady can sit over there."

Rachel began to read "The day the Crayons Quit" to the both of them as they sat on the bed. They both laughed as Rachel did the voices for each of the crayons and as she got near the end of the book, Finn joined them.

Bedtime went smoothly, much to Rachel and Finn's surprise. Both kids were tucked quietly into bed without further conversations. Would the fallout come later on? Rachel refused to believe that the news they told them earlier would not affect them in some way. For now she would just lay low and let the kids come to them if they wanted to.

Rachel made the final notes on their checklist for their trip before heading to bed herself. Finn was already in bed, reviewing notes from their therapy sessions over the past few weeks.

As Rachel climbed into bed, she peeked over to see what he was reading up on.

"I'm just trying to go over everything because today wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The kids were upset which was expected, but no long outburst from Zack and Lainey just didn't even really mention it. It was just odd."

Rachel sat back against her pillows and sighed. "I think we were just so used to how Zack used to react to things, that maybe all of this work we've been doing has actually been successful. It's only been a few hours though. Give him time."

They both laughed softly. It was nice to find humor in it now. Before it was so overwhelming and emotionally draining. Now they knew what to expect and it didn't seem so daunting anymore.

* * *

It wasn't until the middle of the night that the fallout began.

Rachel could hear the thunder in the distance that disturbed her sleep around 2 am. Finn always slept through storms so she wasn't expecting him to get up. She never was a fan of thunderstorms, but things got better once she was married and no longer alone at night.

She snuggled into Finn's back for comfort. Rachel could feel her body relax and began to drift off again when she heard the screams from Lainey's room.

"MOMMYYYYYY! MOMMMY HELP ME!"

Rachel flew into Lainey's room. She wasn't even sure her feet touched the ground as she ran. Lainey was flailing in her covers with tears soaking her face as she screamed.

Rachel scooped her up into her arms to try and calm her. "It's okay Lainey, I'm here," she said as she stroked the back of her head. Rachel wondered if she even realized it wasn't her own mother holding her.

"Lady," Lainey whispered, "I'm scared of the thunder."

Rachel got her answer. Lainey was fine with Rachel, or so it seemed.

"I'm scared of the thunder too Lainey. What would make you feel better?"

"Can I sleep in your big bed? I don't want to be in here by myself. Where's Zack? Is he scared?"

Lainey laid her head on Rachel's chest and played with the strands of Rachel's hair that were near her face.

"Sure you can. Zack's still asleep but if he gets scared I'll go get him ok?"

Rachel carried Lainey back into the bedroom where a sleeping Finn was still dead to the world.

Rachel placed Lainey in between them and pulled the covers up.

Lainey whispered "Will Big Guy squish me? He's really big."

Rachel smiled in the darkness. "No, just stay close to me ok?"

Lainey nuzzled into Rachel's side and quickly fell back asleep. The problem was now Rachel was wide awake and the storm was getting louder. She decided to get up and check on Zack across the hall.

As she arrived at his room, a flash of lightening lit up the house. That's when she saw that Zack's bed was empty.

Rachel told herself not to panic yet. He couldn't have gotten out of the house. The doors all had high locks and she would hope after all of this time he wouldn't try to run away. She turned the light on in his room and saw nothing. Rachel walked over to his closet and opened the doors. Nothing. As she turned around to walk out of the room, a loud crack of thunder shook the house and she heard a shriek come from under the bed. Zack.

Rachel got onto the ground and saw Zack cowered in a ball underneath his bed, tears streaming down his face.

"Go away Rachel. Leave me alone."

Rachel decided not to try and pull him out. That would only make him angry.

"Zack, are you scared because of the storm?"

"No."

"Then why are you under the bed sweetheart? Can we talk about it?"

"No."

Rachel realized she had to find a way to get him to trust her. Whether it was the storm or the news of their adoption, something was bothering him.

"You know when I was little I was very scared of Thunderstorms. I still am. I can't sleep and the thunder makes me jump."

Zack stared back at Rachel from under the bed. "So what do you do?"

Rachel laid out on her stomach and rested her chin on her hands so she could see Zack clearly. "Well when I was little I used to go sleep in bed with my dad's or sleep on their floor. They would make me a little bed in their room for the times I was scared. Now I try to distract myself. I'll read a book or think of something that makes me happy. But I always remember that the thunder and lightning can't hurt me. Sometimes I like to look out the window and watch the lightening in the sky. It can be pretty cool."

Zack slowly began to creep out from under the bed. "Can we watch it now?"

Rachel stood up and grabbed Zack's hand. "Sure. I have a chair in front of the window in our room that's great for watching storms in the sky."

The two walked hand in hand back across the hall. Lainey had now taken residence on Finns side of the bed. He was still sleeping soundly through all of this.

Rachel sat in the chair and invited Zack to sit on her lap. They watched the lightening dance across the sky. Zack's eyes grew wide and he grabbed Rachel's arm for reassurance, but he never moved.

"One time Lainey and I were alone during a big storm. The lights went out and we were scared. Mommy was gone."

Rachel felt tears gather in her eyes as she rubbed Zack's forehead. "I'm sorry Zack. If you're ever scared please come and get me or Finn ok?"

"Okay."

They continued to sit in silence as the storms rolled through.

Zack readjusted himself on Rachel's lap. "Can you make me a bed on the floor Rachel? Like when you were little?"

Rachel kissed the top of Zack's head. "Of course. Go grab your pillow and blanket but make sure to be quiet ok?"

Rachel fixed Zack a bed on the floor and tucked him in.

"If you need anything I'll be right next to you on this bed ok?"

Zack nodded silently as he laid his head down on the pillow.

Rachel crawled back into bed, being careful not to disturb Lainey, who had slept through the rest of the storm.

"Goodnight Zack," she whispered.

"Night Rachel," he replied as he turned over.

* * *

Before Finn opened his eyes, he felt something different about his bed. His arm was asleep and he felt weight on his legs that wasn't usually there.

He turned over to see Rachel sound asleep in her usual place, although a little farther away than normal. However, when he looked down towards his numb arm, he found a sleeping Lainey nuzzled into his side. Glancing down towards the end of the bed, he found Zack using his legs as a pillow and his body across the rest of the bed below Rachel's legs. Finn wasn't sure what had happened last night, but he obviously missed something.

He had to move his arm since it had fallen asleep, but Lainey looked so peaceful sleeping there. Finn tried to move her but every time he did she would whimper in her sleep. His legs were killing him too. He must have subconsciously kept them in the same position once Zack laid on them. He was trapped.

Thankfully Rachel had started to stir in her sleep and rub her face. She always did that right before she was going to wake up. As soon as her eyes opened he began to plea for help.

"Hey, Rach," he whispered while he waved his free arm in the air. "Could you maybe help me out here? I can't feel 3 out of my 4 limbs."

Rachel yawned while she fought off a laugh. "Yeah let me slide Lainey over towards me. What time is it?"

"It's seven. We should wake them up soon anyways if we want to get to my parents before lunchtime."

Rachel slowly slid Lainey towards her body and off of Finn's arm. He began slapping his arm feverishly to get the circulation going again.

"I don't know how to get Zack off of you. He was sleeping on the floor so I'm not sure when he climbed up."

Finn tried to slide his legs out from under Zack but there was no winning. "What happened last night? Did they just come in here? I guess I do sleep like the dead."

Rachel pulled Lainey towards her chest so she could scoot closer to Finn. "Well first it was storming so I woke up. You know me and storms…. Then Lainey woke up screaming for her mom. I went in there and she was scared so I brought her in bed with us. Then I couldn't sleep so I went to check on Zack but his bed was empty."

Finn's eyes grew wide as he realized how much Rachel dealt with last night.

"Don't worry, he was under the bed. We had a talk and then he came in here to watch the storms with me. He told me that once during a storm they were alone and scared. I made him a bed on the floor and that led us to this right here."

Finn smiled as he glanced down at Zack sleeping on his feet. "Well we did want a house full of kids so this is part of it right? Who would have thought?"

Rachel kissed Lainey on the forehead as she reached out for Finn's hand. "Yeah a few months ago I could have never imagined this. It's amazing."

 **Thanks for Reading! I had to break up this chapter or it would have ended up being 15,000 words! Let me know what you think!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello! I'm back with another update! It's almost been a year since I started this story! Crazy! Thanks to all who still read! I own the plot, Zack, and Lainey. Nothing else! Mistakes are all mine!**

The car was silent on the drive down to Lima. It appeared he was the only one who slept well last night. Both Zack and Lainey were passed out in the back seat, tired from being up in the night mixed with the excitement of going on a trip. They had never left Cincinnati before, or at least they can't remember if they had. They buzzed around all morning as Finn packed the car. Zack asked every five minutes if it was time to leave yet. It was nice to see them more excited than nervous about something. Two months ago this much uncertainty would have caused a major problem.

Rachel was next to him in the passenger seat asleep, mouth hanging slightly open. She fell asleep first out of everyone, exhausted from last night's events. These past two months have made his love for her grow ten times it seemed. She has been amazing through all of the ups and downs of fostering these two kids. He will never admit how worried he was those first few weeks. Rachel, although strong, was still so emotionally fragile at times. When the kids first arrived everything was so hectic that even he was having a hard time grasping what to do. She had proved him wrong through. Rachel had stayed focused and never let the kids see her waiver.

They pulled up to his parents' house with everyone still asleep. When the car stopped Rachel's eyes opened slowly.

"Did I sleep the entire way? I'm sorry Finn." Rachel yawned as she sat upright in her seat.

"Don't apologize. You all passed out before we got out of the city. You needed the rest."

Rachel smiled at him as she looked in the back seat. She shook the kids' legs gently to wake them up.

"Hey guys, we're here. Let's wake up so we can go inside ok?"

The two excitedly opened their eyes and began to unbuckle themselves. Carole came out front to greet them as they unloaded the car.

"Hello everyone! How was the drive?" she asked as she hugged Rachel.

"Well unfortunately for Finn we all slept the entire way here, so all in all it was great!" Rachel laughed as she pulled Lainey from her car seat.

"Lainey can you say hi to Carole for me?" Lainey laid her head on Rachel's shoulder, not fully awake.

"Hi Lady Carole," she replied.

Rachel and Carole both gave each other a look but continued heading toward the house. Zack was helping Finn with the bags.

"Finn can I carry my bag into the house by myself? I can do it."

"Sure buddy. Want to get your sisters bag too?"

Zack carried the two bags inside of the house where the girls had already begun to discuss the room situation.

"So Rachel, you and Finn can have Kurt's old room because it has a Queen sized bed. The kids can go into Finn's room with the two twin beds if that's okay."

"That sounds great. Zack do you want to follow us upstairs to see where you'll be sleeping?"

Zack nodded yes as he followed the two upstairs. Finn was soon up with them with the remainder of the bags. They quickly dropped everything in its appropriate place when Rachel felt a tug on her arm.

"Rachel?" Zack asked as he looked up at her, "Where is Burt?"

Zack had really been looking forward to seeing Burt again. He had really hit it off with him last month and it was endearing to see him forming attachments to people.

"Oh he's actually already at the shop. He had to go in to meet a client but asked if you and Finn could head down there when you arrived. I think us girls will have a girls day if that sounds ok?"

Zack smiled at Carole's response. "Can we go now Finn? I want to see all of his cars there!"

"Sure! How about we pick up some lunch to bring Burt too? Sound good?"

The two headed downstairs quickly while Rachel and Carole began to unpack with Lainey in tow.

"What's a girl's day?" Lainey asked.

Rachel knelt down to Lainey's level. "Oh well it's a day where just you, me, and Carole will do stuff without the boys. What should we do today?"

"Well I thought I would treat you two to a manicure and then lunch. Unless you have something else you'd rather do?"

Rachel could tell Lainey wasn't quite grasping what was going on. "Lainey do you want to go get your nails painted? It's like when I paint them but at a fancy place? Then we can go have lunch at a restaurant. What do you think?"

"YAY! Can I get my nails sparkly? With l lots of sparkles?"

"Of course you can! Let's finish unpacking so we can go!"

* * *

Finn and Zack stopped to buy sandwiches on the way to the auto shop. Zack was actually very chatty, constantly asking Finn questions about the different things he saw around town. It was a nice change from him sulking in the backseat.

They pulled up to the shop and could see Burt working in the garage. Zack held Finn's hand as he skipped alongside him to walk inside.

"Hey Burt! Hope you don't mind but we brought some lunch." Finn placed the sandwiches on a table near Burt's office as Zack looked around wide eyed.

"Hey guys! Welcome! Let me just wash my hands and we can get eat. I also have a surprise for you Zack."

Burt went to wash his hands and returned holding something behind his back. "Now Zack, I'm about to give you something that only truly qualified helpers can get in my shop. Finn got some when he started working here and now it's your turn." Burt pulled his hands out from behind his back to reveal a tiny pair of blue coveralls with the name "Zack" embroidered on the front pocket.

Zack's mouth flew open as he ran towards Burt to grab the coveralls from him. "Can I put them on? Now?"

"Sure I'll help you. They just slide right over your clothes so they don't get dirty." Finn helped Zack slide them on over the clothes. Zack stared down at himself, brushing his hands over the material. He beamed as he looked at Burt in his coveralls, realizing that they matched.

"Where are yours Finn? You can't help unless you have them on." Zack skipped back over to the table and sat down in front of his lunch.

"Well I'm sure they are here somewhere, let's hope they fit."

Finn got changed into his coveralls. Zack smiled widely as Finn joined them at the table.

"I'm going to have to get a picture of this. Rachel will flip out."

"Why will she be mad?" Zack asked.

"Oh no not flip out mad, flip out excited. She will love that we are all in matching outfits. Watch this."

Finn asked a worker in the shop to take a picture of them all side by side. Then he quickly sent a text to Rachel with the picture and the caption "Your main men are ready for work."

Not two seconds later he got a text back from her. "OH my gosh this is the cutest thing I've ever seen! I'm framing this!"

Finn read the text to them and they all laughed. "I told you she'd love it. Now let's get to work."

* * *

Lainey sat upright in the chair, legs swinging underneath her, hands outstretched onto the counter in front of her. She watched intently as the woman across from her painted hot pink nail polish onto her tiny fingers. Carole and Rachel were seated on either side of her, also getting their nails done. Rachel was so impressed with how still Lainey was.

"Lainey that color is so pretty. Now remember to sit still so they don't get messed up ok?" Lainey nodded in reply to Rachel's request, calming her legs, careful not to move any other part of her body.

It was rare Lainey had any time alone with Rachel. Since they had arrived Rachel usually had both kids or they did things as a family. This was the longest they had ever broken off separately from each other. Lainey seemed comfortable and calm though, never asking where Zack was.

"Lady, you sit still too ok? Be very careful." Rachel and Carole both smirked at each other over Lainey's head at this statement.

"So where would you like to go to lunch Lainey? What do you want to eat?" Carole turned her body slightly to hear her response.

"I want grilled cheese. Do they have that here at your house?"

"I think we can manage that! Now let's finish up so we can get going. I'm starving!"

Lainey giggled at Carole as the woman finished up her nails. "Lady Carole, you should have had a snack before we came so you wouldn't get so hungry."

Rachel tried to hide her laughter. This is something she tells the kids all of the time before they would leave the house.

"Lainey you're right! I'll remember that for next time!"

* * *

Zack quickly asked Burt to start working on a car the second he finished eating. Burt led him to an old corvette he was restoring. He'd been working on it for six months already and was happy to show Zack the ropes.

Finn stood back as he watched Zack and Burt chit chat away. Burt had lifted the hood of the car to show Zack the various parts of the engine. He could really see the huge changes in Zack since he arrived a few months ago. If this situation had occurred in June, Zack would have stood back, reluctant to talk or participate. He probably would have tried to run away at some point of the day. Now, Zack was fully engaged with Burt, asking questions and interacting with him fully. Finn felt his heart swell watching his dad and son (wow that is weird to say) working on a car just as he had done in High School when he first started working here.

"Hey Finn come help me!" Zack shouted, breaking Finn out of his trance.

Finn hurriedly walked over to him, grabbing the tool he was holding out to for him to use. "Sure thing buddy. Let's get to work."

* * *

Lunch for the girls went off without a hitch. Lainey was well behaved and ate all of her food. No eating off of the floor this time. She was quietly coloring when Carole whispered to Rachel, "So what's going on with their mom?"

Rachel's eyes grew wide. She realized they hadn't told anyone about the phone call from last night or their big news. "Oh Carole we got a call last night. Her rights were terminated and," she paused as she looked down at Lainey, "we are going to adopt them."

Carole's eyes filled with tears as she tried to contain her excitement. She didn't want to cause a scene. "Rachel this is just wonderful. Wonderful. I am so happy these little ones have come into our lives. I know how hard you've worked for this." Carole reached over to pull Rachel in for a hug.

"Hey I want hugs too!" Lainey cried as she noticed what was going on next to her. "Why are you crying Lady Carole? Are you sad?"

Carole wiped the tears from her eyes with the napkin on her lap. "Oh no, I'm very happy that's all."

Lainey smiled up at Carole and then continued on with her coloring, not bothered by Carole crying any longer.

"So how did they take it? The kids I mean..."

Rachel sighed. "Well, they were upset as you would expect them to be. They settled down but were both up last night at different times. This morning they haven't mentioned it so we've decided to just follow their lead. I haven't heard from Finn since he sent that adorable picture of them together, so I'm guessing everything is okay with Zack too. I think they do feel safe with us. And loved."

Carole rubbed Rachel's back as she too was tearing up. "I just don't know how to take their pain away," she whispered. "I don't want them to hate us or think I'm replacing their mom."

Rachel peered over to be sure Lainey was still distracted.

"Oh Rachel I know you can't see it, but I see a huge difference in them just from a month ago. Lainey seems so comfortable now and no one in this restaurant would be able to look over here and see anything other than a mom and a grandma out with their little girl."

* * *

The girls arrived home just in time to see Finn and Zack pulling into the driveway.

"Rachel! Guess what I got to do today!?" Zack shouted as he ran towards her.

"Let me guess? You got to ride an elephant?" Rachel smiled as she teased him.

"No! I got to fix a car! A real car! And I got to wear a special outfit and Finn and Burt helped me!" Zack was jumping up and down, unable to contain his excitement as he retold the events of the day.

"Zack look! Look at my hands!" Lainey cried as she came running over. "They are so sparkly! And I ate a grilled cheese and then Lady Carole cried at the restaurant!"

Finn gave his mom and Rachel a confused look. "We'll explain later."

As soon as they got inside, Burt arrived home and they started to prep for the family BBQ the following day. The kids settled in to watch a movie as the adults worked in the kitchen, both Finn and Burt drinking beers at the table.

"So Burt, did Finn tell you our news?" Rachel asked.

Burt took a swig of his beer. "No..."

"Oh Burt I'm so sorry. Rachel and I found out last night that we are getting to keep the kids. We're officially adopting them."

Burt immediately jumped up to hug them both. "This is amazing news! I know we weren't thrilled when you first told us about becoming Foster parents. We were wrong. You two have been amazing with those kids and they are so lucky to have you."

"So I'm guessing this is why you cried at the restaurant mom? Did Lainey know why?"

"No, I just told her I was happy that's all. It's been really nice to see you all evolve as a family. I'm sure you have many more good things to come."

Finn stood next to Rachel, grabbing her hand. "We have come a long way. It's been hard but worth it."

Just then Zack walked into the kitchen with tears in his eyes.

Rachel ran to his side. "Zack, what's wrong? Did something happen?"

Zack wiped his face, leaving wet remnants on his cheeks from his tears. "I don't know. We were watching the movie and I started to think about mom and now I'm just crying."

Rachel pulled him in for a hug as she realized that this was his next step of grieving. He spent so much time angry that he never allowed himself to be sad.

"It's okay to feel sad bud. You miss her and that's okay. Don't ever be afraid to tell us that ok?" Rachel sat down on the kitchen chair behind her, pulling Zack onto her lap. Burt and Carole made their way into the living room with Lainey to allow them to deal with Zack alone.

"I still miss my dad all of the time Zack. It's okay. I promise its okay."

Zack looked up at Finn with sad eyes. "When will I feel better?"

Finn sat next to Rachel and held out his arms for Zack to join him. Zack climbed up onto Finn's lap, using Finn's shirt to wipe the tears on his face. "You might always miss her, but we hope that you have happy times with us. Did you have a good time today at Burt's shop?"

Zack nodded his head slightly.

"So see? Just because you miss your mom doesn't mean you can never have fun or be happy. She wouldn't want you to be sad all of the time. "

"I just miss her."

Finn hugged him tightly as Rachel tried to hide her tears. This wasn't going to be easy.

* * *

The next morning the kids were buzzing around the house awaiting everyone's arrival. They talked about how much fun they'd had on the fourth of July and were excited to see everyone again. Rachel could tell they hadn't had many consistent people in their lives, so these types of visits were important. Kurt, Blaine, and Warner were on their way and her dads would follow later in the afternoon.

Once they arrived, everyone headed to the backyard. Lainey and Warner were playing at a water table Carole had set up. Finn and Zack were out in the yard kicking a soccer ball while Burt grilled. It was a pretty typical Hudson family barbecue.

"So Kurt," Rachel began, "are you guys going to find out the sex of the new baby? Or are you still keeping it a secret? I'm dying to know!"

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Yes it's still a secret. We want to be surprised this time around. There's very little mystery to how this baby came to be, so we want to experience that excitement."

Blaine coughed loudly. "You mean YOU want to experience it. I'm dying to know too Rachel, but he won't budge. For now we will just set up the nursery with Warner's old stuff and if it's a girl she'll have to deal for a while."

"She most certainly will not! You know its Rachel's job to come down and fix the nursery for us. I'll have everything picked out and ready to go."

A few months prior this conversation would have stung. Rachel would have had to grit her teeth and fight back tears to discuss someone having not their first, but second baby. Today though, she felt fine. Actually, she felt excited for them.

"Well that might not be so easy to do now that I have these guys with me, but I'll try my best. I'm sure Lainey would love to see a new baby wouldn't you?"

Lainey looked up at Rachel and smiled. "My mom's having a baby and I'm going to be a big sister!"

Finn and Zack walked over as everyone sat there speechless.

"Rachel are you pregnant?!" Carole screamed.

Rachel looked around confused. "Um, no. I'm not pregnant. Don't you think I would have told you?"

"Lady are you having a baby like my mommy is? When's it coming out?" Lainey looked at Rachel waiting for a reply.

"Lainey I think you are confused. I am not having a baby and we were talking about Warner having a baby brother or sister soon."

Finn just looked at Rachel, bewildered at the conversation. "What did I miss?"

"Lady, my mommy has a baby in her belly. She told me. Before. When we were at our house."

Rachel looked to Zack to see if he could shed some light on the situation. "Zack is this true?"

Zack just shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah I guess. She said it once right before she left us at the grocery store."

Rachel felt sick. Finn could see from her reaction that he needed to distract the kids and get Rachel out of there.

"Hey Blaine, would you mind helping the kids wash up for dinner? Rachel and I are going to go upstairs for a minute."

Blaine quickly ushered the kids into the bathroom while Finn followed Rachel up the stairs.

"What is going on Finn? Their mom was pregnant? Mrs. Kent didn't say anything to us about this!"

Rachel paced back and forth across the guest room. "I mean, how does she get to have another baby while we raise her other two? It isn't fair Finn! It isn't fair!"

Finn quickly stopped Rachel in her tracks. "Rach, we don't know if this is true. She has a history of mental instability and drug use. Who knows how accurate this is. Sadly their memories aren't always reliable. This could have been a year ago for all we know!"

"I just need the surprises to stop. Just for a day. Right when I feel things are normalizing, the kids tell us some horrible story or some bomb gets dropped on us and I just need a day Finn. Just one day."

Finn realized that Rachel had kept a lot of things bottled up inside for the sake of the kids. Rachel hated looking weak, which is how she felt all of those years they tried for a baby.

"Rachel this is their life. It was inconsistent with scary things happening every day. It's okay to feel sad and overwhelmed by it. I feel like this every single time I look at them. Wondering how someone could not love the hell out of these two kids. They've done nothing to deserve their past, but they deserve a great future. We can call Mrs. Kent on Monday to ask about their mom, but it's really not our business to know. Unless it involves these two kids, she doesn't have to tell us. "

Rachel fell into Finn's arms, hugging him tightly as she buried her head in his chest. She took a deep breathe inhaling his scent, which was always a comfort to her.

"I know Finn. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize Rachel. Maybe we need a break. We can maybe go away for a night or two and have my parents watch the kids. That's what we had them certified for isn't it?"

"Finn I don't know if I'm ready for that. I just maybe need to vent to you a little more. I just love them so much it hurts, in good ways and bad."

Hiram and LeRoy had arrived just before dinner. No one spoke about the conversation before they arrived. The kids were all running in the yard with the various toys Carole had set up. Blaine had Lainey on his back running around the yard. She was screaming in delight as he chased the other kids with her on his back.

"She's really adjusting well Rachel. It's so great to see," Hiram said as he sat in the chair next to her. "How has Zack been? He seems happier."

Rachel sighed. "It's been hardest on him, especially now that he knows his mom isn't coming back. He is starting to bond with people though and he allows us to talk him through this more versus shutting down so that's a plus."

"Well you two have done a phenomenal job. We are so proud of the both of you and these kids are just precious." LeRoy rubbed Rachel's shoulder before joining the kids in the yard.

"Big Guy! We are coming to get you!" Lainey screamed as Blaine ran towards him.

Finn pretended to be scared as they reached him. He grabbed Lainey off of Blaine's back and threw her over his shoulder. She shrieked in delight as Finn began to run away with her. "I've got her now Blaine. You'll never get her back! You won't scare me again! "

Lainey laughed so hard she could barely breathe. He ran her over to Rachel and placed her in Rachel's lap. "Now you can't have her because the Queen has her and she will never let her go."

Lainey squirmed in Rachel's arms as Blaine came closer. Zack ran up to Blaine before he could reach her. "I'll help! I'll help you scare him!" Zack jumped up on Blaine's back as they approached Lainey. "Big Guy help me!" she cried. Finn threw her onto his own back as they all began to chase and scream around the yard again.

Carole leaned over and whispered in Rachel's ear. "See, it's all going to be fine."

* * *

Rachel awoke that night disoriented. It took her a minute to remember she was at the Hummel's house. Then she heard the thunder and realized why she had woken up. She rolled herself over towards Finn and reached her arms out for comfort. The sheets were cold as she found the bed empty. Rachel swung her legs over the side of the bed, the wood floor cool to the touch.

She walked quietly across the hall to where the kids were sleeping. She turned the knob, wincing when it squeaked. The room was dark except for a tiny nightlight in the corner of the room. Both kids were asleep soundly in their beds. It was when Rachel glanced at the floor, she saw him. Finn was sleeping in between the two beds, propped up on a dresser. He looked so uncomfortable and she couldn't leave him.

"Finn," she whispered as she shook his arm.

Finn was startled awake at the sound of her voice. He moaned quietly as he rubbed his neck, sore from the way he had been sleeping.

"Honey why are you in here?"

"I got up to go to the bathroom and Zack was awake and afraid of the storm. I offered to sit in the room with him and I must have fallen asleep."

Rachel rubbed Finn's arm as he spoke. "I don't want to leave him. He made me promise I wouldn't leave during the storm."

Just then a loud crack of thunder shook the house. Lainey shot up from her bed and screamed. Rachel rushed to her side to try and settle her down. Zack was still asleep and Rachel didn't want him to wake up too.

"Finn why don't you sleep in Lainey's bed and she can bunk with me. That way Zack isn't alone but you also won't wake up crippled in the morning." Finn nodded in agreement as Rachel picked Lainey up out of the bed. She was still whimpering and Rachel knew she would settle down in bed with her.

Rachel shut the door quietly behind her and headed back to her room. She heard another door open and saw Carole in the doorway. "Is everything ok?"

"Yes, sorry we woke you," Rachel answered as she held Lainey in her arms.

"Oh you didn't, the storm did. Do you need any help?"

Lainey lifted her head to see Carole standing there. "I'm going to sleep in Lady's bed so we won't be scared." Rachel smiled at her answer.

"Oh okay, well I'm sure it will be over soon. Come and get me if you need help ok?"

Carole retreated back into her bedroom and the boy's room was quiet. Rachel placed Lainey on the bed and she climbed onto Finn's pillow. Rachel covered them up, tucking the covers under Lainey's chin. "Go back to sleep Lainey. I love you."

"I love you too Lady."

Rachel pulled Lainey closer to kiss her on the forehead before she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

On Monday Rachel put in a call to Mrs. Kent about the information Lainey had shared. Mrs. Kent had no idea if it was true, but since no one could even locate their mother she couldn't say for certain. She did assure Rachel that if she did check into a hospital in the area they would be alerted immediately.

Upon hanging up the phone, Rachel felt defeated. She didn't want to believe the kids. She didn't want to think that this woman who already had two children taken away would be pregnant again. Why would the children lie about it? They had no reason to make that up.

School was approaching and the kids hadn't been left anywhere since the daycare incident in June. She had promised the kids they would go back to school shopping this week and they both seemed excited. Rachel could tell Zack thrived on the routine and normalcy.

Finn and Rachel had both decided it would be best if Rachel continued to stay home until the kids were settled in school. One of them had to be available at all times in case of an emergency with Zack. Plus Lainey was only going to preschool half day and Rachel didn't want to hire a sitter to watch her after school.

Rachel heard a commotion by the front door followed by the kids running towards the kitchen.

"Finn got us donuts!" Zack yelled as he pummeled towards the table, donut in hand.

"Big Guy let me get a pink one!" Lainey squealed as she sat patiently for Finn to serve her.

"Donuts huh?" Rachel raised an eyebrow as Finn entered the kitchen. "I thought you were taking them out for breakfast. A real breakfast."

"Well on our way to breakfast we stopped at the pond to see the ducks and then we were running late so I took them to the donut shop. Did you know donuts are their favorite Rach?" Finn laughed knowing Rachel did not approve. Sometimes it was fun to break the rules.

"Are they? Who would have known that two little kids would love donuts? Amazing!" Rachel smiled as the kids tried to figure out if she was joking or not. "Eat up kids! We have to go get school supplies today! School starts in a few weeks and both of you need all new stuff!"

The kids ate and chatted at the table while Finn cornered Rachel in the living room. "Well? What did Mrs. Kent say?"

"She doesn't know anything Finn. This is driving me nuts. I just have a weird feeling about it. I can't explain it, but something is off. Where is this woman? What if she comes back when she has this baby and wants them back? Finn I can't let her have them back." Rachel could feel her mind spiraling out of control.

"Rachel you need to stay calm. Her rights have been terminated. Even if she has another baby or comes back she would have to fight long and hard to get them back. I'm on your side but you need to try and just enjoy them. They are finally relaxing and having fun! You should have seen them at the pond. Smiles from ear to ear. No one cried, tried to run away, or told me a sad story. We're getting there. Don't let this become your new obsession."

Rachel gave Finn a huge hug. "Thanks for taking them this morning. I needed some time after that phone call to decompress."

"Lady!" Lainey shouted from the kitchen. "Can I have some milk please?"

"Be right there!" Rachel replied. "Well the children need me so I'll try my best to focus on them and forget about their mom for now."

"Rachel, you are their mom now. Try and remember that."

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! This still has at least five chapters to go...haven't decided. I appreciate everyone who is sticking with me! What do you think?**


	10. Chapter 10

Your eyes do not deceive you! This is an update! I know its been 6 months, but I really lost sight of what I wanted to do with this story and took some time to regroup. I hope there are some of you still interested in this! I don't own glee but I do own the plot, Zack, and Lainey.

* * *

September 2026

Finn and Rachel had spent the last few weeks making sure the kids made it to every therapy visit. Dealing with their moms abandonment, a new house and family life, and now a new school was a lot for their young minds to handle. They both had a calm few weeks, and The days came and went relatively smoothly. Zack hadn't acted out in quite sometime, although he did still have his moments. Lainey was happy all of the time, only having nightmares once a week where she would scream for her mom. Finn and Rachel had become experts on how to handle them, even attending therapy on their own a few times.

They were beginning to function like an average family. The rest of the summer had flown by. Mrs. Kent, their social worker, had dropped by twice for unannounced home visits, leaving each time satisfied that the kids were thriving. She was unable to find out anything about the kids mother and whether or not she was pregnant. Rachel was frustrated because she was convinced the kids were right, but there was nothing further she could do. They had to stay focused on the kids and keeping them safe and happy.

Rachel didn't want a repeat of what happened at daycare earlier in the summer to happen again. She had spent hours researching and coaching the kids on how to handle being away from them and being at school in general. The kids didn't go to school consistently, so she knows it might be a challenge. They did activities to prepare for the first day, even driving to each child's school ahead of time to see if there was anything unexpected that needed to be addressed. Zack seemed reserved about it, but wasn't refusing to go like earlier in the summer. Lainey was very excited, but constantly made comments about how long she would be gone and when she would be picked up, etc.

The first day of school fell during the first week in September. Both kids were a little nervous in the morning, but both Rachel and Finn kept the mood light, making a special pancake breakfast for them and setting out their new special outfits. Rachel made them both take pictures on the porch with signs stating the date to remember this by. She even managed to squeeze a smile out of Zack as he posed.

Zack walked between Finn and Rachel, as he held their hands tightly. It was his first day of second grade, and they had spent weeks preparing for it. He was wearing navy shorts with a red and white striped shirt, black converse on his feet. Zack had asked Finn to gel his hair and make it spiky. He still admired Finn a lot, and looked up to him for guidance.

They had a private meeting with his teacher last week to try and give her as much information to help Zack transition back into school. They wanted her to be fully aware of his history, both personally and academically. Rachel knew that if the year didn't start off right, they were in for a long road. The elementary school was very supportive too, making sure every form of support was available to him if needed. His academic abilities were still in question based on him missing so much school within the past year.

"You doing okay there buddy?" Finn asked as they walked towards the entrance of the school. "You're gonna be fine I promise."

Zack nodded 'yes' as they continued on towards the door. Lainey was holding Rachel's free hand as she skipped along. Her preschool drop off was later.

"Why can't I go to Zack's school?" Lainey asked as they walked through the big double doors.

"You can next year for Kindergarten. You have to be five first." Rachel explained trying to stay focused on Zack's body language. "You get to go to preschool after we drop Zack off ok?"

At hearing those words, Zack gripped Rachel's hand tighter. She looked down at him and gave him a small smile for reassurance. They arrived at his classroom with ten minutes to spare. Rachel helped him unpack his backpack and unload the school supplies they had bought. Finn stood at the back of the classroom distracting Lainey from interrupting. His teacher, Mrs. Silva, kept her distance while they finished up.

Zack slid into his seat, second row, second desk, and stared at the paper in front of him. The paper was titled "All About Me" and asked the children for various pieces of information about themselves.

"What if I can't answer some of this? Will I get in trouble?" Zack asked as he rolled the pencil inbetween his fingers.

Rachel bent down to be at Zack's level. "No you won't. It looks like you know the answers to everything on this page. It's asking for your favorite foods, your birthday, your family members..."

At those words Zack looked over at Rachel concerned.

"Zack, you can write whatever you want on this paper ok? No one will be mad and you won't get in trouble. I promise." Rachel rubbed his shoulder, hoping this wouldn't set him off before school even started. "You can even leave it blank if you'd like."

Mrs. Silva announced it was time for the parents to say their goodbyes. Students rushed to their seats as their parents hugged them goodbye. Finn walked over holding Lainey in his arms.

"Good luck today buddy. Can't wait to hear all about it when you get home this afternoon." Finn held up his hand for Zack to give him a high five. Zack gladly returned the sentiment. Lainey remained quiet, clinging to Finn as he walked about of the classroom.

"I'll see you after school ok? Have a good day." Rachel glanced back at Zack as she walked out of the room, but he was already listening to the teacher's directions as she spoke. She hoped for everyone's sake today went well.

* * *

The drive to Lainey's preschool was quiet. Lainey seemed nervous, so both Rachel and Finn kept conversation to a minimum until they arrived.

"Ready to go Lainey? You're going to have so much fun today!"

Finn grabbed Lainey out of the back seat, but when he went to put her down she clung to his neck. "You don't want to walk into school?" he asked as he moved her to one hip while holding her backpack to the other arm.

"No. You hold me Big Guy, please." He glanced at Rachel who shrugged her shoulders. They hadn't expected Lainey to the be the difficult one today.

They arrived to Lainey's classroom, which was much noisier than Zack's had been. Two kids were crying as their parents tried to soothe them, while others were running around the room chasing each other. The teacher was off in the corner talking to some parents which left Rachel and Finn to troubleshoot this themselves.

"School starts in a few minutes Lainey, so let's get you unpacked." Rachel waited for Finn to put her down, to which Lainey complied. "Let's find your name on the hooks so we can hang up your backpack and put your lunch in the bucket. Lainey accompanied Rachel over to the wall, hung up her backpack, and put her lunch in the bucket. "Great job, now let's find your seat at the table and you can show Finn and I where you get to work today!"

Rachel grabbed Lainey's hand and walked over to the table, Finn trailing behind. Lainey sat in her seat at her teacher, Miss Jenkins, told all of the kids to show their parents their seats because the day was going to start. Finn watched as the other parents ushered their kids around and tried to say their goodbyes.

Rachel and Finn bent down on either side of Lainey, her pink flowered dress laying neatly in her lap.

"Have a good day Lainey, we will see you right after lunch ok?" Rachel brushed Lainey's blond curls behind her shoulder with her fingers. "You're going to have so much fun."

Lainey looked up at Rachel and tears began to escape from her eyes. "Okay," she whimpered.

Finn spoke up to try to break the tension a bit. "Lainey I want you to tell me all about your day when I get home from work. I want to hear all about it."

This made Lainey cry harder. "Can't you stay with me?"

"Lainey, look at my big legs! I'll break these chairs if I try to stay and sit with you." Finn smiled which caused Lainey to laugh a little. "I promise the day will go by so fast. We love you."

Finn and Rachel followed the rest of the parents out into the hallway, where the director of the school was waiting with other parents from the other classrooms.

"We promise the first day is hard but we will definitely call you if anyone is having a hard time calming down. The crying is normal, for both parents and kids."

Rachel laughed as she realized she was teary too. It broke her heart to leave Lainey crying in the room, but it also felt good to be missed.

"She'll be okay Rach. She's spent two months with you every day. Of course she'll be sad to leave you, but this is good for her. For Zack too. This is what childhood should be for them." He grabbed her hand and walked her to the car slowly, praying neither of their phones rang for the rest of the day.

* * *

Rachel entered the preschool building with excitment. She had missed Lainey and Zack all day. It's funny how she had been so stressed out for so many weeks with them home, but now that they were gone all day she was bored and couldn't wait for school to be done. Lainey got out at 1pm and Zack didn't get out until 2:30, so Rachel was hoping she could take Lainey by Finn's office to say hi.

The kids were all lined up against the outside wall of the classroom, waiting to be dismissed. Rachel filed in behind all of the other moms, trying to catch a glimpse of Lainey to make sure she was okay.

"Which one is yours?" the mom next to her asked.

Rachel smiled slightly, because this mom was treating her like any other mom of the group. "Oh, she's the blonde one over there, in the pink flower dress." Rachel pointed to Lainey at the back of the line, whose eyes were searching the crowd. "And yours?"

The woman pointed to a small boy with dark hair wearing a shirt with a dinosaur on the front. "That's Max. I hope he did okay today."

"I know, I feel like I was more stressed than Lainey today. I'm Rachel Hudson by the way." Rachel held her hand out to shake the woman's hand.

"Andrea Smith. Is she your first?"

Rachel hesitated. She hadn't thought about how to address this with other parents because she had been so focused on making sure the kids were ready.

"Is Lainey's mom here?" Miss Jenkins shouted, saving Rachel from having to answer.

"Right here!" Rachel yelled as she moved forward in the crowd.

When Lainey saw her, she ran to Rachel and squealed. "Lady I missed you!" Rachel scooped her up as they pushed back through the crowd of parents and exited.

"I missed you too! Did you have fun?" Lainey wrapped her arms around Rachel's neck and scooted her body as close as she could without choking them both.

"Yes! I have some papers to show you in my bag and I ate all of my lunch. Are we going to get Zack now?"

Rachel opened up the car door and Lainey climbed up into her seat.

"No, we are going to see Finn at work first and then get Zack. He isn't finished with school yet."

"YAY! she screamed as Rachel started the car.

They arrived at the Hudson Properties office ten minutes later, Lainey skipping happily into the building.

Rachel grabbed her hand as they walked inside, the secretary beamed as she saw her.

"Mrs. Hudson! Welcome back! It's been so long since we've seen you." Rebecca had worked with the company for years, and had always been very sweet to all of the employees.

"Hey Rebecca! This is Lainey. Lainey can you say hi?"

Lainey waved to Rebecca but her attention was quickly averted as she heard Finn's voice in the distance.

"Is he with a client?" Rachel asked.

"No, he's just wrapping up a conference call. Should be done within a minute based on his schedule."

Rachel picked Lainey up and whispered in her ear. "Okay Lainey, Finn is on the phone so we have to be super duper quiet ok?"

"Okay," Lainey whispered in return.

Rachel walked slowly past her now dark office, it hadn't been used in months. Next door was Finn's, and she heard him hang up on his call just as they approached the door.

"Well if it isn't my two favorite girls!" Finn smiled as he got up from his chair and took Lainey out of Rachel's arms. "How was your first day of school?"

"Good!" she replied as she hugged his neck tighter. She let go and looked around the room. "Do you work in here? Can I work here when I'm big?"

"Sure thing! Here, why don't you sit at my desk and I'll give you some paper and you can work while I talk to Rachel." He placed Lainey down, giving her a legal pad and a bright red pen.

"So, how was it really?" he asked as he turned back towards Rachel.

"Honestly I think it was fine. She came out happy, her note for the day said she was good, so it was a success I would say. I think it speaks a lot to how she's feeling now. When we first got her she had no sense of security and that's why she freaked out at daycare. Today was completely different. I'm hoping Zack has a good day too." Her smiled faded slightly as she thought about him. He was much more fragile than Lainey was, even after three months.

"Well no one has called us so hopefully his day is going smoothly. He starts soccer this week too, so we should expect some outbursts from him. He doesn't react well to change or feeling unsure. We might have to talk him through some stuff. " Finn and Zack had become closer as the summer came to a close. They had started to go out in the yard every night after dinner to play a quick game of catch or kick the soccer ball around. He was actually shocked when Zack agreed to play on a soccer team this fall.

Lainey continued to play while Finn and Rachel reviewed some new home listings in the office. She hoped that if the transition to school went smoothly, she could pick up some clients during the hours Lainey was at preschool. She hadn't committed to it yet, because she's learned the life of a foster parent is unpredictable at best. She wasn't going back to work until she felt the kids were settled with school.

They said their goodbyes an hour later and headed to Zack's school to pick him up. Rachel felt nervous, worried about the condition of Zack's mental state after such a stressful day in a new situation. This is the longest he had been away from them since June.

Lainey had fallen asleep on the short drive over, so Rachel chose to stay in the carpool line to pick up Zack. She could see him standing with two other boys, chatting while looking for their cars. Zack spotted her as she inched closer. She waved and smiled as he walked towards the car. Zack opened the car door and hopped in, Rachel pointing to his sister and motioning for him to be quiet. He buckled himself into the seat as Rachel began to drive away.

"So how was it?" she asked softly.

"It was good. My teacher is nice." Zack rummaged through his backpack for something. "I even got student of the day for following all of the rules and being a good listener." He held up a red ribbon to show her.

"Well that's fantastic. Already student of the day on the very first day of school. Finn will be so excited to hear about it!." Rachel looked in the rear view mirror to see Zack smiling to himself as he looked at the red ribbon. She had hoped today was going to go well, and now hearing that it did made her feel so accomplished. They had worked hard all summer, making sure that these two kids felt secure enough to function out in the world. Today both of the kids had proved that it had been a success.

* * *

Dinner time rolled around and Finn arrived to sit down and hear all about the kids day. Zack told Finn about the ribbon he earned, and his two new friends Cole and Eli who played with him at recess.

"Well it sounds like this new school is great! Glad to hear about you being student of the day! That's cool buddy!" Finn ruffled the hair on top of Zack's head.

"Hey! Don't mess up my gel!" Zack said as he pushed Finn's hands away. Zack had held it together all day, but as he grew more tired, they could see he was growing agitated.

"Be nice Zack." Finn reached over and put Zack's hair back into place.

Lainey was so exhausted that she fell asleep at the dinner table, unable to make it upstairs for bedtime.

"I'll go put her to bed if you and Zack want to clean up the dishes for me?" Rachel picked up a sleeping Lainey and hoisted her up into her arms.

"I think we can manage that. Goodnight Lainey." Finn stood up and kissed Lainey on the forehead as Rachel headed upstairs. He began to pick up his plate and Zack started to gather the cups to put in the sink.

"Do you think Burt can come to my soccer game on Saturday? He told me he wanted to come see me play."

"Actually, Burt and Carole are coming. So are Rachel's dads. Everyone is so excited to see your first game!" Finn continued clearing the table as Zack watched.

"What if I mess up?" Zack began to play with his napkin that still remained on the table.

"I think they'll cheer for you either way buddy. And you will mess up at some point. No one is perfect. Just keep playing during the game even if you mess up. We've been working on it and you'll be fine I promise."

Zack cracked a smile and stood up to continue helping Finn.

"I'll get the rest, why don't you head upstairs to take your shower and get ready for bed."

Once the kids were settled in for the night, Rachel got their folders out to go through the mounds of paperwork that had to be filled out. She had to make sure that she signed the correct forms and made sure the kids weren't photographed at school. Their identities had to be fully protected until the adoption was final. In both folders she found the "All about Me" papers they each had filled out at school.

She looked at Lainey's first. Hers was obviously simpler than Zack's. It had her favorite color listed (pink) as well as her favorite food (strawberries). At the bottom was an area labeled "My Family". She had drawn two bigger figures, one taller than the other. The one she assummed was Finn had short spikey hair. The one that was supposed to be her had long dark hair. Then a smaller boy and girl were drawn. Rachel smiled as her fingers brushed across the crayon drawn figures, the simplicity of this picture bringing her so much joy.

She then moved onto Zack's paper, his categories a little more specific: Favorite TV show: (Ninja Turtles), Favorite color (Green). These things she knew already. She then saw a few things that she hadn't known. Favorite sport (soccer). She could give Finn credit for that. Favorite hobby: Fixing cars with Burt. Favorite thing to do at home: Having Rachel read stories to me before bed.

Tears started to fall and she wiped them quickly so she wouldn't get the paper wet. Then at the bottom he had drawn their family in the box. He labeled it as "Finn, Rachel, Zack, and Lainey." The four of them were drawn together, a soccer ball in the bottom right corner.

Finn walked into the kitchen to find Rachel staring at a piece of paper and crying. "Hey, what's wrong? Bad news from school?" He sat down next to her grabbing the paper out of her hand.

"No, actually. Nothing is wrong. Everything is feeling right." She passed the papers to Finn so he could read them. A smile grew across his face.

"Wow. It's crazy that we've only had them a few months. Oh look! Zack likes soccer." Finn kept scrolling down the paper until he saw the line about Rachel and he realized why the tears had come. "See, he's coming around to you. He appreciates you even though he doesn't show it a lot of the time."

Rachel stood up to hug him, allowing Finn to swallow her into a hug with his arms. He kissed the top of her head, inhaling the scent of her shampoo, realizing they hadn't spent much time alone since the kids had arrived. He'd have to try to change that soon.

* * *

Both kids survived the first week of school without incident. Rachel and Finn were feeling so proud of all of the work the four of them had done together to make this happen. Most families didn't have to worry about these kinds of things, but they did. Lainey even got invited to Max's birthday party in her class next weekend. Things were going smoothly, which meant Rachel was ready for the other shoe to drop.

Rachel was quiet in the car on the way to the soccer game on Saturday. Lainey was in the her seat wearing the puffiest dress she could find. Not exactly soccer game attire but Rachel didn't want to argue. Zack was in his red and black soccer uniform, complete with brand new Nike cleats and holding his red soccer ball. His team named themselves "The Flames" and its all Zack had talked about this week. He even managed to survive both practices without throwing any fits or getting mad. Finn was so proud of him.

"What's on your mind? You're never this quiet." Finn grabbed her hand as he continued to drive to the park.

"It's just going so well. I don't want this to be ripped out from under us." Rachel kept her voice low to prevent the kids from hearing her.

"I know. Try not to worry too much. We have no reason to believe this won't all pan out like its supposed to. Let's just enjoy today ok?" He squeezed her hand and held it in his lap until they arrived.

Burt and Carole had set up their chairs on the sidelines along side of Hiram and Leroy. it was a little chilly for a fall morning in Ohio, Rachel bringing along a few blankets for the family.

Lainey immediately jumped into Hirams lap as Finn set up their chairs. "Which one are you?" Lainey asked Hiram. "Leroy or Hiram? I get confused."

Hiram laughed. Due to their travel schedules they hadn't seen the kids as often, but they did Skype around once a week. "I'm Hiram. I'm the cuter one remember?" He winked as Leroy shook his head.

Zack took off his sweatshirt and threw his ball on the ground. "Good luck today Zack!" Burt shouted, holding his hand up for a hi five.

Zack smiled and gave Burt a hi five. Everyone else, including Lainey, held up their hands as well and Zack ran around smacking his hand against theirs.

Rachel walked Zack over to his coach so they could prep for the game. The two practices they had earlier in the week went well, so she was hoping he wouldn't freeze up during the game. Zack trailed slightly behind her, dragging his cleats through the grass as he walked.

"You're going to be fine. Just listen to your coach ok? He'll tell you what to do." She guided Zack over to the group and he quickly joined in, waving to Rachel that she could walk away.

The team began warming up and Lainey was already bored. "Big guy can we go for a walk?" Lainey jumped off of Hiram's lap and started skipping around Finn's chair.

"It has to be quick! I don't want to miss any of the game." Finn grabs her hand and starts to walk a lap around the field to help her get some energy out.

"So Rachel," Hiram gegins, "What's the latest on the adoption? You haven't shared anything in quite a while."

Rachel pulled her sweatshirt closed around her, the chill of the morning fall air causing her to shudder. "Well there isn't anything to report. I had the social worker check up on the mom, but no one has seen her or knows if she's pregnant. She's just vanished. We have an appointment at the end of the month to see if the judge will allow us to proceed with the adoption barring nothing else comes up."

"Like what?" Carole asked. "What else could come up?"

"A relative showing up would be a big road block. Family comes first before anything, especially if they can't be proven unfit. So far I haven't been notified of anyone coming out of the woodwork, but they both have a dad somewhere, and I have no idea about aunts, uncles, grandparents... We aren't out of the woods until the adoption papers are signed, which could be a year away still. " Rachel began to tear up as she saw Finn throw Lainey up onto his shoulders from afar. "I know we've only had them for a few months, but the thought of them leaving breaks my heart. They're doing so well. I'm just afraid it will all be ripped away by some random person wanting a govenment check in exchange for taking the kids. Trust me, its not that much money but people get greedy I suppose."

Zack ran by as he was running a drill with his team, smiling as they all watched him. Rachel waved enthusiastically, wiping the tears from her cheeks so he wouldn't see them.

"Well I'm sure it will all be fine." Carole handed her a tissue to wipe the remaining tears from her eyes. "These kids fit right into this family and the day that it's official will be amazing."

Rachel smiled subtly, hoping Carole's words were true.

By the time the game had started, Zack had loosened up a bit, and was playing defense which was close to where the family was sitting.

"You've got this Zack!" Finn yelled, sitting forward in his seat and resting his elbows onto his knees. He wanted this game to be a positive experience for Zack. He knows if something bad happens he won't want to come back. Zack still had the mentality that he wasn't capable of doing things, and that if things were hard he should avoid them. Finn was hoping this would break him of that. It was a process. Zack wasn't used to having positive experiences in his life, so he didn't always act appropirately in good or bad situations, but luckily he seemed to be learning how to deal.

Soon the ball was headed for Zack, not soon after the ref blew the whistle to begin. Finn felt his pulse increase as he saw Zack standing there, facing off with another player from the opposing team. Rachel grabbed Finn's hand and whispered "come on Zack, block the ball," under her breath.

Zack ran up and kicked the ball out of bounds, preventing the other player from scoring. Rachel and Finn jumped out of their seats clapping, Burt reaching over to give Hiram and Leroy a high five. Lainey was playing with a doll on Carole's lap, so when Carole started clapping Lainey was confused.

"What are we clapping for?" Lainey asked as she clapped along.

"Your brother did a good job and we're proud of him!" Carole beamed as she watched Finn and Rachel settle back into their seats.

Zack resumed his position on the field as the teams continued playing, glancing over at his cheering squad every so often. Rachel would wave and Carole would snap a picture. Finn never let his eyes wander from Zack on the field.

"We're totally those obnoxious sports parents right now." Rachel laughed as she winked at Finn.

"We are, but I like it." Finn gave Zack a thumbs up as the ran by again.

Just then Zack was involved in another great play. The entire group rose to their feet to cheer. They could see the smile radiating off of Zack's face as he heard his name being called. What they couldn't see, was the familiar blonde woman watching in the distance as tears streamed down her cheeks.

* * *

Uh oh! Who's creeping at the soccer game? I apologize for the long wait to get an update on this story. I have it all planned out so hopefully it will be updated again soon! Reviews are love! Thanks!


	11. Chapter 11

**Hello! I know I hardly update anymore but I'm trying! I have two open stories right now that I will be finishing if it kills me! I don't know if anyone is still reading, but if you are...enjoy! I don't own Glee...just the plot and original characters.**

* * *

October 2026

It was a lazy Thursday afternoon. The first month of school had gone surprisingly well. Lainey no longer got teary and drop off and Zack had managed to only get in trouble once for not waiting his turn in P.E. Rachel had even managed to go back to work one day a week to help out at the office. Their new normal was going well.

No one had any practice or activities tonight, so the kids requested pizza and a movie picnic on the living room floor. Finn arrived at home with dinner just as the kids finished laying out the blankets.

"Yay pizza's here!" Lainey yelled as she rushed towards Finn. "I'm hungry!" Lainey jumped up and down indicating she wanted to be picked up.

"Lainey, let me get into the kitchen before you jump on me okay?"

Lainey stomped her feet as Finn kept walking. She's still working on some temperament issues at times, especially with being patient.

Rachel caught a glimpse of Lainey behind Finn as he entered the kitchen. "Lainey, you better turn that attitude around or no picnic for you." Lainey's eyes widened as she processed Rachel's words.

"Okay," she pouted.

Finn gave Rachel a quick kiss before placing the pizza on the counter. Zack got the plates out while Lainey waited by the table for Finn to pick her up.

"Okay Lainey, my hands are free. Come here!" He held out his arms for her and she ran into them. Finn scooped her up and threw her in the air while she screamed.

"I was a good girl at school today and I even was a helper for my teacher!"

Finn placed her back down on the floor. "I'm so proud of you! Go pick your spot in the living room and we will bring the food okay?' Lainey runs off and Finn can see her blonde hair disappear as she plopped herself down on the floor. "Zack, can you turn on the movie for us?" Zack shrugged his shoulders and walked away without replying.

Rachel sighed at Zack's reaction. "He had a rough day. The teacher sent home a note saying he needs to start going to tutoring after school twice a week. He's really behind in reading. You know Zack, he didn't take it well."

Finn's heart sank a little. Zack had been doing so well, even scoring a goal last weekend in his soccer game. Any setback could be harmful to him. Both he and Rachel liked to keep the momentum moving forward.

"Well hopefully the teacher can catch him up. Can we do anything at home? To help him?"

Rachel pulled out a sheet from Zack's backpack which hung on the back of a kitchen chair. "Yes, she gave us a lot to work on and we'll do it, he's just feeling sad. He even made a comment that he wished his mom would have been home to send him to school more. Even though they're doing better, their past is always lingering. The ramifications of the neglect are still there even if we don't see it all of the time anymore."

Rachel leaned into Finn slightly, relaxing at the warmth of his body next to hers. "I was waiting for something to happen, but if this is all that it is, we can handle it."

They joined the kids on the blankets, eating their pizza and watching the movie Trolls. About 40 minutes in, both kids were growing antsy. They'd seen this movie at least twenty times, but they both always choose it to watch.

Lainey had gone upstairs to put her princess nightgown on, and when she returned she crawled onto Rachel's lap. Zack had laid back onto Finn's legs, half watching the movie and playing with his super hero figurines.

"Hey Zack, don't be sad about tutoring. I had to go to tutoring many times when I was growing up for math AND reading."

Zack sat up and turned to face Finn. "You did? Did it make you smarter?"

"Oh yeah! I promise if you go and practice a lot, you won't need to go after a while. It's not your fault you missed a lot of school, so now we just have to catch up. We'll help you."

"Okay Finn." Zack seems satisfied with Finn's words and turned back to lay down to finish the movie.

Around 7:30 pm the kids were done with the movie and Rachel and Finn had cleaned the kitchen. Their bedtime routine was about to begin.

"Okay kids, head upstairs to get ready for bed time! Get those teeth brushed and we'll meet you upstairs," Rachel yelled into the living room.

Zack complied and they watched him walk up the stairs and walk towards his room. Lainey wasn't so compliant. She sat at the bottom of the stairs, arms crossed with a pout on her face.

"What's wrong Lainey? Don't want to go to bed?" Finn sat down next to her on the step.

"No. I get sad at night because I'm all alone in my room." Lainey had developed a new fear of being alone, right after they had gotten her over it a few months ago.

"Well we are right next door to your room. You're not alone. We check on you every night to make sure you're safe before we go to bed ok? Want me to give you a piggy back ride up to the bathroom?"

Lainey jumped up immediately. "Yes! Yes please!"

Rachel emerged from the kitchen to follow them up the stairs. She helped Lainey climb onto Finn's back and they all headed up the stairs.

"Hold on Lainey, its going to be a bumpy ride! Hold on tight!" Lainey squeezed her arms around Finn's neck tighter as Finn began to bounce up and down while stepping on each stair.

"Finn be careful please," Rachel said as she put a hand on Lainey's back for support.

Lainey squealed loudly in between fits of laughter. "Daddy don't drop me! Hold me tighter!"

With those words both Finn and Rachel froze. They were almost to the top of the stairs, but Zack was in the bathroom with the faucet running and he didn't hear.

"Why'd you stop?" Lainey asked. "Keep going we're almost there!."

Finn continued to bounce, trying not to put too much emphasis on what Lainey just called him. He was afraid to turn around and see the look on Rachel's face. Once in front of the bathroom door, he puts Lainey down, instructing her to brush her teeth.

He turned around to find Rachel standing in the hallway beaming, a few tears gathered in the corners of her eyes. "So you heard it too?" he asks as he pulls her into their bedroom.

"Yes. That's amazing Finn. I don't think she even realized she said it, but she did." Rachel hugged Finn quickly before she heard both kids run to their rooms.

"You aren't upset? She called me dad before she called you mom, I just thought -"

"Finn, I'm not mad. I'd rather them view me as their mom than call me mom. That's more important to me. I just want them to know I'll be here for them and take care of them, not matter what. She might call me 'Lady' forever, but I know in her heart it means 'mom'."

With that she walked out of the door towards Zack's room, which meant he had to go to Lainey's first tonight. They always traded and took turns on who they said goodnight to first. He was also proud of how far his wife had come in a few short months. She's continued to be strong even in the hardest moments.

* * *

Around 2 am their house phone rang, startling them both out of a dead sleep.

"Hello?" Finn answered, his eyes barely open. "Oh hey Kurt!" He sat up in bed, motioning for Rachel to wake up too. "Congratulations! No, its fine. We can go back to sleep. I'll have Rachel call in the morning." Finn hung up the phone only to be bombarded by Rachel's questions.

"Did the baby arrive? Is it a girl or a boy? Name? Weight?"

"Ugh I should have just handed the phone to you. It's a girl. Her name is Willow. That's all I know." Finn laid back down on his pillow, pulling the comforter above his shoulders.

"A girl? Oh that's so exciting! Wait, did he mention me coming down to fix up the nursery or anything? I committed to that before we got the kids you know."

"No, he didn't mention it. I talked to him for like a minute. If you want to go down for the weekend tomorrow, then go. I can keep the kids here."

Rachel's mind filled with thoughts of leaving the kids for a few days. She hadn't been away from them at all. Just getting them off to school successfully was a feat in itself. She knows Finn can handle it, but could the kids?

Rachel awoke again around 6, still unsure if she should drive down to Lima or not. She checked her phone to find a text from Kurt, asking her to come down and set up the nursery if she felt up to it.

She wanted to go, but also knew she couldn't take everyone with her. Lainey had dance class today and Zack had a big soccer game tomorrow. Why did she feel so guilty about leaving them for two nights?

"What are you thinking about?" Finn asked, startling Rachel out of her thoughts.

"Kurt texted asking me to come down and help out. I know that's what I did when Warner was born, but things are different now. Plus your mom is there to help too."

Finn could tell Rachel felt conflicted. "Just go. It's only two hours away. My mom is there, but Kurt and Blaine love sharing this with you too. I think they are even more excited now that our circumstances have changed. I know when Warner was born they sort of held back their excitement because of us. This time, its different. I can handle things."

Rachel sat up in bed, pulling her legs underneath her. "Are you sure? I do want to go and meet my new niece."

"I'm positive. Plus Puck is coming to Zack's game tomorrow so Ashley will be there to play with Lainey. Quinn has to work so we will hang with the kids all day. It will be fine. You'll be back Sunday and we will all still be here I promise. The kids need to know that even if you or I go away for a day or two, we are always coming back." Finn grinned as he grabbed Rachel's hand to kiss it.

Rachel beamed in return. "If you think you can handle it, I'll text Kurt right now and start packing." She jumped up, retrieving a duffle bag from the closet. The kids wouldn't be up for at least another hour, so if she timed it right she could be ready to leave before they left for school.

Rachel was in the kitchen when the kids came downstairs for breakfast. They are never up before 7, but of course today they woke up early to catch her before she left.

"Why are you dressed already?" Zack asked. "You never get dressed until after we start eating."

Rachel glanced at her bags that were just out of sight. Lainey hopped up onto her chair and popped a strawberry in her mouth.

"Well, Kurt and Blaine's new baby was born last night, so I'm going to go to Lima to help out for a few days."

Zack grew excited. "We get to go to Lima this weekend? Yay! I hope Burt has a car to work on."

Lainey clapped at Zack's statement. "What time are we leaving? Soon?"

Rachel realized they hadn't fully understood what she said. "Well, I'm just going to go alone this time. The baby is very small and little kids aren't allowed in the hospital. Finn will be here to take you guys to school and soccer this weekend. I'll be home on Sunday! She tried to make the end of that statement as enthusiastic as possible as she watched the looks their faces fall.

"You're leaving?" Zack asked quietly.

Lainey wiped a few tears from her eyes, trying not to cry.

"Yes, but I'll be back on Sunday in time for us to go pick out your Halloween costumes ok? Zack you have a soccer game tomorrow and your team needs you."

Zack nodded his head as he pushed his spoon around in his cereal bowl.

"But you could bring me! I don't have a soccer game." Lainey ran over to Rachel, throwing her arms around her waist and burying her head in her side.

"Oh Lainey I can't. I have to help watch Warner and bring him to the hospital and you won't be allowed because the baby isn't your sister. I promise we will all go down there for Thanksgiving next month and you can see the baby and visit with everyone ok? Don't be sad."

Lainey let's out a wail that triggers Finn to run downstairs. Rachel looks at him wide eyed, signaling for help.

"Hey, what's going on?" Finn asked as he reached the kitchen. Zack just shrugged his shoulders and walked into the living room to watch TV. Lainey just screamed louder.

"They aren't happy I'm going to Lima. Maybe I'll just stay home." Rachel took a deep breathe trying not to cry. All she had wanted was for these kids to love and depend on her. Right now it isn't working in her favor.

"No, you're going. It's two nights and they'll be fine." Finn pried Lainey off of Rachel's body. Lainey kicked as he picked her up, but calmed down once she was up in his arms. "Lainey, Rachel will be back on Sunday. How about we face time her on the phone tonight before bed and you can tell her all about your day ok? You can call her anytime you want." Lainey nodded and then laid her head on Finn's shoulder, looking away from Rachel.

Rachel reached over and gave Lainey a kiss on her cheek. "Love you Lainey. I call you later today okay?" Lainey nodded but didn't say anything in return. She went to Zack in the other room, telling him the same thing. Zack lingered in the hug a little longer than usual, but seemed fine overall.

Rachel hesitated as she lingered by the front door. Zack was still staring at the TV and Lainey was clinging to Finn's neck. Finn nodded for her to go, so she walked out and quietly shut the door behind her.

* * *

Two hours later she was outside of the hospital room where Kurt and Blaine were staying with their newborn daughter. Last time she was here when Warner was born, she dreaded going in. She felt sorry for herself, and insanely jealous of her brother in laws. Today, she only felt happiness and excitement. She knocked lightly on the door and heard Kurt call for her to come in.

Rachel could see the little pink bundle wrapped in Blaine's arms on the couch. Kurt was up on the bed with Warner playing trucks. Carole was off at the house getting things prepped for them to return home tomorrow.

"Oh my goodness let me see that baby!" Rachel squealed as she approached Blaine. She peeled back the blanket to reveal a tuft of dark hair. "She is precious and her name is beautiful." She made her way over to Warner, getting an enthusiastic hug in return. "Do you have a sister buddy?"

"Yeah" he answered as he continued to roll his trucks across the bed.

"He really doesn't get it. He thinks she's just here for a visit." Kurt laughed as he rolled his eyes. "Mom is at the house setting things up so I think I'll have you take Warner to her when you leave so he can nap. How long are you staying? We found out we get to go home tomorrow morning because she's doing so well!"

Rachel sat next to Blaine on the couch, opening her arms for him to hand over the baby. She cradled Willow in her arms, tucking her into the crook of her elbow as she relaxed.

"She is just gorgeous you two, " Rachel said as she smiled down at the baby. "I think I'll stay until Sunday morning and then head back up. Finn said he has it all handled but we will see how tomorrow goes. He has to take them both to Zack's soccer game and Lainey doesn't like to sit still at those."

Willow let's out a little cry, indicating she's getting hungry.

"Here, once she wakes up a little more you can feed her the bottle. I'm going to run down to the cafeteria to grab some lunch. Warner, let's go take a walk ok?" Blaine scoops Warner off of the bed and heads out the door before he could protest.

Rachel sees Willow opening her mouth more, so she places the small bottle into her mouth. Willow happily sucks away, her eyes never opening.

"So, are you and Finn still trying to get pregnant? You seem like you're doing okay this time around. I mean, you were happy when Warner was born but I could tell you were a little bit sad too."

Rachel sighed. She didn't feel once ounce of jealousy or sadness right now as she cradled her new niece. "Well we aren't doing anything to prevent it I guess, but we aren't focused on it anymore. Since Lainey and Zack came into our lives that sort of just fell away. Of course that would be an amazing surprise but we have two kids now that have found away to fill that hole."

* * *

Rachel took Warner home in the afternoon and then helped Carole set up the nursery for Willow. Warner took a long nap which allowed them to get it all completed before dinner.

Things at the Hudson house weren't going as smoothly. Finn had managed to keep some sanity right after school, but he had to admit he wasn't exactly clear on their routines after they got home. It wasn't a school night so there wasn't homework to be completed. Lainey had whined for the past hour that Finn hadn't cut her strawberries in the right way. Zack was mainly quiet, shutting out anyone who tried to talk to him.

After dinner, Zack was fidgeting at the table as Finn cleaned up.

"What's wrong Zack? Nervous about your game tomorrow?"

Zack picked up his paper napkin and began twirling it between his fingers. "No. I'm excited about that," he said never looking up from his gaze towards his hands.

"Well what's wrong then? You've been quiet all afternoon. Did something happen at school?"

Finn could hear Lainey playing with her Barbie's in the living room as he waited for Zack to reply.

"When is Rachel coming back? Tomorrow?"

Zack missed Rachel. Finn hadn't expected that from him, but it would explain his quiet demeanor all afternoon.

"I thought she said Sunday, but we can call and ask her again. Maybe things will change if Kurt and Blaine don't need her help anymore."

Zack's eyes lit up slightly at the thought of her coming home sooner. "Can we call her now? She likes to give me pep talks the night before my soccer games. Bed time is soon and I don't want to miss it."

Finn dried his hands off with a towel after throwing the dishes in the sink. "Sure! Why don't you go get Lainey to sit with you on the couch and we can face time her ok?"

Zack raced out of the room telling Lainey what to do. Before Finn entered the room they were both waiting side by side on the couch.

Finn settled himself in between them and started to call Rachel.

"I hope Lady answers!" Lainey shouted.

Soon Rachel's face appeared on the phone screen. "Hi guys! Getting ready for bed soon?"

Zack's face immediately softened at the sight of Rachel's face. Lainey immediately started blabbering about her Barbies before Zack could even answer.

"Wow Lainey, seems like you're having fun!" Rachel smiled widely as she tried to pay attention to both kids through the screen. "Zack, are you ready for your game tomorrow? Remember, try your hardest and always keep your eye on the ball ok?"

"I will!" Zack replied. "Can you come back for my game tomorrow?"

Rachel's heart sank a little. She knows he'll be fine if she's not there, but she feels so guilty to be missing it. "Well I'm here helping Kurt and Blaine with Warner and their new baby. I'll be back on Sunday. I want you to call me right after your game ok?"

Zack blinked hard, pushing back tears he was embarrassed to show. "Okay," he answered softly as he quickly got off the couch and ran up the stairs.

"He knew I was going to be gone right? I thought I made that clear." Rachel looks at Finn for some guidance.

Finn pulls the phone closer to his face so he can whisper without Lainey fully hearing. "I think he really misses you. He won't flat out say it, but he's acting differently since you left."

Rachel sighed. She wished she didn't feel so guilty being gone. This is normal. Normal families have a parent go out of town sometimes. Normal families can be apart for a day or two. "Okay. Can I say goodnight to Lainey one more time before you hang up?"

Finn turned the phone back towards Lainey's face, and Lainey proceeded to kiss the phone screen to say goodnight to Rachel.

As soon as Rachel hung up she burst into tears. Carole rushed over to her side.

"Oh honey the kids are fine. Finn can handle it."

Rachel wiped the tears from her cheeks. "I know. I just didn't expect Zack to care that I left. He never shows any affection towards me and to know he's sad without me there is both heartbreaking and exhilarating at the same time. I don't want him to be hurting, but it shows that underneath it all he's really coming around."

Carole hugged her a little tighter. "What you two are doing for those kids is amazing. If you want to go to Zack's game tomorrow, get up and leave early. We have things handled here. The nursery is done and you have your own little family to take care of. Kurt and Blaine were thrilled you came but you don't have to stay the entire weekend if your kids need you."

Rachel felt relieved at Carole's suggestion. "I think I'll leave early in the morning and drive straight to Zack's game and surprise him. Thank you Carole. I needed to hear that."

* * *

Julie Miller was hiding behind a tree at the park where she last saw her son play soccer. She had downloaded the schedule at the library, and was hoping to watch him again from afar. She knew she couldn't contact the kids or their foster parents. That was against court orders since her rights had been terminated. She just wanted to see them with her own eyes, even if its just from far away.

She sat on a bench far enough away where the kids wouldn't see her. It was cold, so she layered herself in a big coat and winter hat, further disguising herself.

She missed her kids so much it hurt. It's her own fault they were taken away, and she wishes she could go back to that day and do it all over again. She wouldn't have left them in that store. She can't even fully explain why she did it, but she did. There were other things she could have done, other avenues she could have reached out to.

Her son plays for the red and black team, so when players start showing up, her heart starts to race. She sees the tall man walking with her two kids behind him. Zack throws the ball down in front of him and dribbles it towards the rest of his team to warm up. The tall man sets up two chairs, and sits Lainey in one. He gets a large pink blanket out from under his arm and wraps it around Lainey, protecting her from the cold. She doesn't see the woman she presumed was the foster mother.

Soon another man with a little girl in two shows up. Lainey jumps up, the blanket falling to the floor. The two men shake hands and Lainey starts talking to the other girl. Julie can feel herself tearing up seeing how much Lainey has grown and has a little friend too.

She sees the tall man run over to talk to Zack. Zack's looking into the man's eyes, listening intently. They give each other a high five before the team takes the field.

The tall man lays out the pink blanket on the floor and the two girls sit down and get some toys out of a backpack. Lainey had never had a friend before. She looked happy.

Zack looked confident as he played in his game. Ten minutes pass before she sees the short brunette show up. The foster mom. Zack gets excited to see her, waving from the field before having to chase the ball. The woman waves back, a smile spread across her face. Lainey gets up from her blanket, jumping into the woman's arms. She was hugging her so tight, as if she was afraid the woman would vanish if she didn't.

Julie sat still in the distance for a solid hour, her gaze never leaving her two children. They looked happy and confident. She had never seen them like this. In just four months her two babies had changed.

When the game was over and Zack ran into the woman's arms, she broke. She ran as fast as she could away from the field. Julie knew what she had to do.

* * *

Early Monday morning, Rachel is headed to the office after dropping the kids at school. The rest of the weekend flew by. The kids were thrilled she returned early. They all went out to lunch after Zack's game. Puck and Ashley came along. Quinn had been working a weekend job so Puck was thrilled to have some entertainment for Ashley.

Sunday they had gone to buy Halloween costumes. Zack of course picked the Ninja Turtle and Lainey chose Cinderella. They had never been trick or treating before, so this was all new and exciting for them!

Traffic is a nightmare and the morning with the kids had been overwhelming. She hadn't realized how much breaking the routine would set everyone off. Just as she's pulling into the parking lot her phone rings. She reaches for the phone to see its Mrs. Kent calling. Assuming the call was about their upcoming court date, Rachel quickly answers as she parks the car and begins to head into the office.

"Hello Mrs. Kent, I hope your Monday is going well." Rachel waves to the secretary as she buzzes by and walks to her office.

"Hello Mrs. Hudson, do you have a minute?"

Rachel placed her bags onto her desk. She looks across the hall and can see Finn on the phone at his desk. "Yes I have a minute. Is everything okay?" Rachel sat herself down into her chair as her nerves ran wild.

"Well, I have some news about your court date at the end of next month. Ms. Miller, the children's mother, has contacted our offices and states she will be attending the court date on November 30th."

Rachel felt the blood rush out of her face. This can't be happening. She looked across the hall hoping Finn was off of his call but he wasn't. "What...what does that mean. I thought her rights were terminated. This was our hearing to proceed with the adoption." Rachel could feel her hand shaking as she held the phone up to her ear, praying Mrs. Kent would say something else.

"The purpose of the hearing still stands. I haven't heard why she contacted the office, only that she will be in attendance.

Rachel swallowed hard, trying to get rid of the lump in her throat that was forming. "What if she contests the adoption. Can the judge give Ms. Miller her rights back? Will the kids get taken away?" At that thought the tears started to fall. She could see Finn finally hang up and waved to get his attention but he wasn't looking. She was paralyzed as she waited for an answer.

"It's not that simple Mrs. Hudson. It's not uncommon for parents to resurface after a while. It's up to the judge whether or not things need to change or proceed forward. All we can do is wait for the court date. I'll type up my latest home visit observation which of course will give you a glowing recommendation."

Rachel finally caught Finn's eye as he was walking around his office. He rushed across the hall immediately. He tried to catch her attention again and motion to her, but she was now starting down at the floor as she listened intently.

"Is there anything else we can do while we wait for the court date? That's over a month away. We just have to sit and wait and act like everythings fine!?" Rachel was trying her hardest not to lose it on the phone. She hoped there was something she could do. Anything.

"No," Mrs. Kent replied, "Just try your best to carry on as usual. Let us know though if mom tries to contact you in any way."

With that statement Mrs. Kent hung up and Rachel dropped her phone. Finn rushed to her side.

"What's going on? Is it about the kids?"

All Rachel could do was nod before she broke out into hysterics.

"Rachel calm down. You need to tell me who was on the phone. Is someone hurt?"

"No..." Rachel paused. "Their...mom...court." That's all she could get out before trying to catch her breath again.

Finn pulled her into an embrace, trying to calm her down as he too slowly panicked inside. He didn't need to hear more than those words. Julie Miller had resurfaced just as things were moving forward. In one instant their world was turned upside down again.

* * *

 **I will be finishing this, even if it takes me two years from starting it to do so! I try to write when I can , but time is limited. I appreciate your feedback and reviews!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hello! I'm back! I'm working on both stories I'm writing at the same time so I promise updates are coming for both this and Fire and Ice. I don't own Glee, just the plot and original characters. Enjoy!**

* * *

November

To say this month had been rocky is an understatement. Upon hearing the news of their mom coming to the next court appointment, Rachel hasn't been herself. She's constantly worried that the kids are going to be returned to their mother. Finn walks around trying to keep the peace while walking on eggshells. The kids have noticed the change in their parents behavior, acting out a little bit at home. Their home life seems a bit unsteady.

Soccer season ended, so now their nights and weekends are free. Finn tries to get Zack to take up basketball during the winter but he refused. He seems to be shutting down a bit and they don't know why. It's easy to pretend everything is okay, but under the surface they are all at their breaking point. The kids still think its possible their mom could return, but they don't bring it up often.

Lainey turns five the weekend of Thanksgiving. Rachel and Finn decide to throw Lainey a birthday party along with inviting the family down to celebrate a belated Thanksgiving on Saturday. Lainey chose a princess theme, excited to pick out the decorations with Rachel. She also picked out a giant pink cake, complete with seven princesses on top. She's never had a birthday party before. Lainey blurted that out while they were shopping and Rachel had to pretend she had something in her eye to hide her tears.

The party is a welcome distraction to their impending court date on Monday. Finn hopes that the family visiting will help the kids pull out of their funk and give Rachel a mental break. He's seen her like this before during their fertility treatments. She holds it together on the surface but on the inside is falling apart.

Everyone is driving up from Lima, and were due to arrive around noon. This meant that by 11:30 the kids were itching for everyone to come. They had grown a real connection to their immediate family and loved seeing them.

"Can we go outside and wait?" Zack asked. "I'm bored sitting by the window."

Rachel hesitated before saying yes. "Go ahead and get your jackets on. It's cold out. And stay on the porch where we can see you!"

Zack and Lainey ran to get their coats on, Lainey throwing on her purple beanie too.

Finn helps zip them up and ushered them out onto the front porch. "Now you two stay here until someone comes ok? You can play on the porch and in the yard but don't wander off. I'll be watching you from the window to be sure you're listening."

Rachel and Finn had tried to give the kids a little more freedom as they adjusted. They had to have such a tight grip on them when they first arrived that now they were trying loosen the reigns a bit. The kids thought it was a big deal to be outside alone, even if a parent was always watching them from inside.

Rachel was just putting the finishing touches the Thanksgiving meal when she heard commotion at the front door.

"Has anyone seen the birthday girl?" Burt asked as he had a giggling Lainey thrown over his shoulder. "I can't find her ANYWHERE."

Lainey screamed "I'm right here! You're holding me!" She laughed as she kicked her legs.

Rachel smiled as she saw how happy Lainey was. "Where's your brother? And Carole?"

"Zack wanted to help Carole bring in the desserts, so I chose to drag this little one in with me." Burt put Lainey down and she immediately headed back for the door.

Finn took Lainey back outside towards Zack and Carole, offering to help. Hiram and Leroy pulled up as well. Zack beamed as he walked back into the house holding a large tray of cookies.

"Carole told me to put these on the counter," he said as he walked past Rachel.

"Thanks for helping Zack. That's very grown up of you." Rachel took Zack back into the living room where everyone was taking off their coats.

"Kurt and Blaine are running a little late. The baby was fussing a lot in the car. They called us right before we arrived," Carole said.

"I told them they didn't have to make the trip. We could have always gone to see them another time. The baby is so little," Rachel said as she gathered the kids coats to hang up.

Carole shook her head. "I know. Those two are convinced they can do it all but they're exhausted. I think they just wanted to get out of the house for a while."

* * *

Once everyone arrived, the family sat down at the large dining room table together. Rachel and Carole had set up all of the food in the center. The kids were seated between Rachel and Finn and across from Burt and Carole. Hiram and Leroy were on either side of them. Kurt sat at one end of the table with the baby in hand, while Blaine was at the other end with Warner. They barely fit and Rachel realized that next year she might need an extra table. The thought of that made her smile.

"I've never seen so much food in my life!" Lainey cried.

Zack looked over at her with a sullen look. He still views himself as her caretaker at times. "Yeah, its a lot of food."

"As a tradition, we are going to start the meal with everyone saying what they're thankful for. Don't get sappy on me dads." Rachel announced. They've done this every year since she was little. Now she extends the tradition to their family meals every year.

"I'll go first," Hiram announced. "I, of course, am thankful for this family and our ability to be involved in your lives every day."

Leroy spoke up next. "I'm thankful for our wonderful daughter Rachel, her husband, and these two beautiful kids. I'm also thankful that our two families can get together like this often."

"Thanks for keeping it simple dads," Rachel replied and winked at them both.

Kurt and Blaine both said the same thing, that they were thankful for their two kids, as well as the family that supports them.

Carole teared up as she began to speak. "Well, I am so thankful that our family has grown by three people this year! Zack, Lainey, and Willow all joined our family and I couldn't be happier."

Zack blushed at her words. Rachel teared up too, thinking about last year's Thanksgiving. The table was much smaller.

Burt spoke next. "I am thankful for my new car buddy Zack. Since Finn grew up I've been waiting for someone to help me! Warner is too little still, but I'm sure once he's bigger he'll be in helping us too. And I'm thankful that Lainey gets to come down and have girl time with Carole so she's not all alone when us boys go out."

Zack was sitting across from Burt, a smile plastered across his face. The bond between those two was so special and unexpected.

Finn cleared his throat to go next. "I am so thankful for many things, but of course I'm so glad Zack and Lainey came to live with us." He paused as he looked down at them siting in between he and Rachel. "We are so glad that you're here and so thankful to have met you."

Finn blinked hard to fight back the tears that formed in his eyes. He hadn't expected to become emotional, but the thought of how their past Thanksgiving's probably were is what sent him over the edge. They had never sat down to a formal family meal, never had people who were thankful for them. Things he had always taken for granted were the same things these children never got to experience.

Rachel opened her mouth to speak, but Zack interrupted her before she had a chance to begin.

"Um, can I go next?" he asked. Rachel nodded at him to continue. "We did this at school so can I say the same things?"

"Of course you can," Rachel smiled.

Zack looked around the room, then down at his empty plate. "I'm thankful for my bedroom. I'm thankful that Lainey is here with me. I'm thankful that Rachel and Finn are nice to me. And I'm thankful that we get to see all sorts of new people and have holidays together."

Zack continued to look down, afraid to see the reaction to his word. Finn reached over and rubbed his arm and whispered in his ear telling him he did a good job.

Rachel decided to go next, unsure if Lainey wanted a turn. "I am thankful that everyone is here today. I'm so thankful that Zack and Lainey came to live with us this year. I'm thankful for Willow, who also joined her family. I am thankful for the support of our parents during our new journey. This has already been my favorite Thanksgiving ever." Rachel was proud of herself for not crying at the table. She focused on the fact that the kids were here now, not that they could be gone by Christmas.

"My turn!" Lainey shouted. "I'm thankful for this giant turkey, Zack, my new mommy and daddy, and my pink birthday cake that I'm gonna eat later." She beamed as she finished. "Can we eat now?"

"I forgot something in the kitchen. Why don't you all get started and I'll be right back." Rachel sprinted to the kitchen, out of sight from the rest of the group. The tears started to fall then. Lainey had referred to her as 'mommy' for the first time and didn't hesitate. Why was this happening when it could all be taken away on Monday?

Finn walked in, finding Rachel at the counter blotting her eyes. "Hey, why are you crying? Happy or sad? Lainey called you mommy which is awesome right?"

Rachel sniffled through her words. "I'm happy because the kids have come so far. I'm sad because I'm terrified their mom is going to take them away. All of this will be gone in the blink of an eye and there's nothing we can do about it. I don't want them to go." She leaned into his shirt, allowing him to wrap his arms around her.

"I know. We knew this was a possibility when we signed on for this, but it doesn't make it any easier."

* * *

Dinner was wonderful and before dessert Finn decided to take the three older kids outside to run around. The weather was unseasonably warm for November, so any opportunity the kids had to get some energy out was a bonus. Warner and Lainey decided to jump in a pile of leaves, while Zack opted to kick the soccer ball with Finn. Finn watched Zack field a ball he had kicked to him, remembering how different things were back in June. The first time they all played outside Zack tried to escape the yard and Lainey wouldn't leave his side. Now they seemed so relaxed and happy.

Inside Rachel sat on the couch holding a sleeping Willow while Carole got Lainey's cake ready. Kurt had dozed off on the couch and Burt in the recliner. That left Blaine, Rachel, and her dad's to hang out for a while.

Rachel placed Willow up on her shoulder and covered her with a blanket. "This baby is so sweet Blaine. You two lucked out. Warner was so cranky sometimes."

Blaine laughed. "He still is! We are lucky though. She's pretty mellow. Wishing she would sleep more at night but that will come. Poor Kurt is exhausted" Blaine motioned over to where Kurt was passed out.

Hiram snapped a picture of Rachel and the baby on his phone. "A baby looks good on you Rachel. Have you and Finn thought about trying again?"

"Hiram stop it," Leroy whispered under his breath.

"It's okay dad. No, we haven't. I'm slowly becoming okay with the fact that us having a biological child probably won't happen. I am lucky that I've had a sweet nephew and niece to snuggle, but our own baby might be a thing of the past. Zack and Lainey have taught us a lot over the past five months. I honestly don't think about trying for a baby anymore."

"That makes sense," Hiram continued, "After we had you we were content. No need for another child even though you begged for a sibling every year until you were 10."

The group laughed and the commotion of the kids coming in from outside woke up Burt and Kurt.

"It's time for Happy Birthday!" Warner screamed.

"Don't try to blow out my candles Warner!" Lainey replied as she pushed past him towards the table.

"No fighting you two!" Finn shouted as he and Zack finally made it in the house. "They were getting fiesty outside."

Carole brought the cake into the dining room as the rest of the family gathered around. Rachel handed the baby off to Blaine so she could get her camera ready to take pictures. Kurt made sure to stand next to Warner so no candle blowing would occur.

Lainey's face lit up as Carole lit the candles. Her smile was so big as everyone sang to her. Rachel snapped pictures as Finn filmed on his phone, making sure to catch her as she made her wish and blew the candles out .

Everyone clapped and cheered, including Lainey. "Can I open presents before I eat my cake? I've never had presents before!"

The adults looked around the room at each other, careful not to draw attention to her statement.

"Yes you have Lainey, last year mom got you some chapstick or something," Zack replied.

"Oh, I don't remember that because I was only four. Now I'm FIVE." She held up five fingers to show everyone.

Hiram and Leroy brought the gifts in from the other room and placed them next to Lainey. Hiram handed her a small box first. "This if from Leroy and I. We gave one similar to Rachel when she was little."

Lainey peeled back the pink wrapping paper to reveal a small jewlery box. Upon opening it, she discovered a small delicate gold star necklace. "Oh pretty! Can I put it on now?" Leroy nodded as he rushed over to put the necklace around her neck. Rachel was taken aback by this gesture from her fathers. They didn't even want them fostering at all, and now these kids have even found a place in their hearts.

"Here you go Lainey, open ours next! Warner helped pick it out." Kurt handed Lainey a giant white bag that said Happy Birthday in pink and purple writing. She threw the tissue paper that had been carefully place in the bag straight onto the floor. First she picked up a brand new pink sweater dress, followed by some pink and white leggings and some pink fuzzy boots.

"Oh can I wear this to school Monday? I promise not to get the boots muddy!" She looked up to Rachel for approval.

"Sure, as long as you're careful. I wouldn't want to see you upset if you ruin them on your first day wearing them."

"Yay! Thank you Kurt and Blaine and Warner and Willow!" Lainey then looked up to see a medium sized box in Carole's hands.

Carole handed it over cautiously. "Be careful Lainey, don't tip it over."

Lainey ripped the paper back to reveal a nail painting kit for kids. "This is all for me? All of this nail polish?" Lainey stared at the box again, studying the contents of what was in the box. "Can we paint nails tonight?"

"Lainey, if we paint them tonight they won't dry before bed. We can have a nail day tomorrow ok?" Rachel explained.

Lainey shook her head to acknowledge Rachel's statement, but Rachel could tell she wasn't happy.

"Thank you Carole and Burt. I've never had my own nail polish before." Lainey smiled up at the two as they reached out for a hug.

"Okay last present Lainey! It's from me and Rachel and Finn." Zack picked up the last giant bag. It had a picture of all of the Disney Princesses on it. Zack had helped Rachel pick out the present and he took great pride in it. The love he had for his sister was immeasurable.

Lainey reached into the bag and revealed a light purple authentic Rapuznel dress in her size. She'd become fascinated over the past month with the character and Zack insisted on getting it for her. It was full length, with organza accents and puffy sleeves. There was also a Rapunzel wig with a braid that almost reached the floor, and purple Rapunzel shoes. Her eyes lit up and she lifted up in front of her face to get a closer look. Then she looked up at Rachel and Finn and burst into tears.

Rachel and Finn hurried to her side, unsure of why she was crying.

"Lainey, what's wrong? Do you not like it?" Finn asked as he picked her up.

"I don't know why I'm crying," Lainey said as she let out another wail and rested her head on Finn's shoulder.

Everyone stood there bewildered, including Zack. It wasn't a normal reaction for a child to start crying while opening presents.

"Are you crying because you're happy Lainey?" Rachel asked as she put her arms out. Lainey leaned over and went from Finn's arms to Rachel's. "Do you like the dress or do you not like it? You can tell me."

Lainey wiped her eyes before she looked into Rachel's. "I don't know why I'm crying. I do like the dress. It's the best present I've ever had. I promise." She hugged Rachel before sliding out of her arms and back towards her gifts. "Can I put it on? Right now?" Her smile returned and she ran off to change into her dress.

The therapist had mentioned that Lainey was having issues regulating her emotionls lately. This was just the latest example.

* * *

Carole and Burt extended their weekend so they could watch the kids after school while Rachel and Finn were in court. They had to show up at noon for a call time between 12-3 pm. They spent most of Sunday cleaning up from Thanksgiving and enjoying some down time.

After dinner, Zack noticed that Burt and Carole hadn't packed up their things to leave. "Are you sleeping over on a school night?" Zack asked Burt.

"Yeah buddy, and we get to pick you up from school tomorrow. Maybe we can go out for ice cream huh?" Burt ruffled his hand over Zack's hair.

"But why? Why can't Rachel pick us up?" Zack looked over at Rachel who was coming down the stairs with Lainey. He was uncomfortable with any change in routine. "Rachel why can't you pick us up from school tomorrow?"

Rachel and Finn hadn't planned on telling the kids much about the court appointment. She kept forgetting how attentive Zack was to everything.

"Well, Finn and I have a meeting about you two tomrorow afternoon and we aren't sure how late we'll be. We asked Carole and Burt to pick you two up from school. Sound good? We'll be home by dinner." Rachel hoped that would satisfy Zack's question, but he didn't look pleased.

"Is my mom going to be there? At court?" There was a hint of sadness in his eyes as he mentioned his mother.

Finn and Carole grew quiet at the opposite end of the room.

"Well," Rachel hesitated, "she might be. She wasn't there the other times though so we aren't sure."

Lainey heard this and piped up. "You're going to see my mommy tomorrow? Can we come?" She jumped up and down at the thought.

Rachel sat down on the couch and pulled Lainey onto her lap. She motioned for Zack to sit next to them. "No, no kids are allowed. Remember how we talked about adopting you? The meeting is about that. It's only for adults to decide."

Lainey leaned back in Rachel's lap as she yawned. "Okay. But what about mommy?"

"Well if your mom comes I'll see if I can talk to her okay." The thought of talking to their mother terrified her, but she'd do anything for these kids.

Zack looked up at Rachel, still sad and his eyes began to water. "Can you just ask my mom if she's okay? And tell her that we are okay here? And maybe tell her I play soccer now?"

"Of course I can Zack. I'm sure your mom would be so proud of you." Rachel wiped the tears that wet Zack's cheeks before wiping her own away. "Now be sure to help Burt and Carole after school tomorrow ok? They've never picked you up before so you'll have to be big kids and help."

"I can do that." Zack glanced up and Carole and Burt and smiled.

* * *

The morning was a whirlwind. Neither Rachel nor Finn had slept longer than few hours, both stressed about the court date. Both kids struggled to get ready for school, even with the help of Carole and Burt in the house. Zack was extremely quiet, not speaking to anyone. Lainey on the other hand was clingy and whining not stop with both Finn and Rachel.

Rachel and Finn dropped the kids off at school, then headed to the office to try and get some work done before the court appointment at noon. Finn was able to make a few calls, but Rachel mainly sat in her office staring at the computer screen. She wished time would go by faster, that this day would be over and she would know the outcome of their little family.

They didn't speak a word on the way to the Court House. They held hands in silence, neither wanting to say something to upset the other.

Rachel and Finn waited anxiously on two chairs outside of the courtroom. They had to wait until their case was up and to be called into the court room. Mrs. Kent had prepped them on what was going to happen. They were to remain quiet unless questioned.

Rachel sat with her hands folded, looking around to see if their mom had shown up. Every woman that walked by peaked her interest. She had never seen Julie Miller before, so she wasn't sure what she was looking for. She figured she would know when she saw her.

Rachel's leg began to bounce up and down as her anxiety increased. Today determined everything. What did their mom want? Why was she suddenly reappearing after six months?

Soon the court room doors opened, revealing an older woman holding a clip board. "I need the parties regarding Zachary and Lainey Miller in the courtroom please. Mrs. Kent and the Hudson's rushed in and took their seats in the appropriate chairs.

Rachel heard footsteps walking towards the others side of the courtroom. There was the court appointed lawyer for the children, followed by a pretty blonde woman dressed in a prison jumpsuit. Her swollen belly was protruding out beneath the orange shirt. Lainey had been right. Their mom was pregnant.

Finn grabbed Rachel's hand and squeezed it. Rachel began to focus on her breathing, trying to remain calm. She felt like she was going to be sick. How was it that this woman has three children and Rachel was unable to get pregnant at all? They've raised her children for six months and she gets to have another one and start over? Life wasn't fair.

Julie Miller and her lawyer sat down as the judge began to speak. Julie kept her eyes facing forward, avoiding eye contact with Rachel and Finn. The Hudson's couldn't keep their eyes off of her.

Mrs. Kent scribbled on a piece of paper: I had no idea she had been arrested and charged. This must have happened last week. This changes things.

Finn's eyes grew wide as he read the final sentence. Changes things how? He could tell Rachel was already a mess by this news. She was holding it together but he knew her. She was about to crack.

The judge was an older man in his 50's. He looked nice as far as the Hudson's could tell. Mrs. Kent said he was a decent judge who normally ruled fair. He was all business though and didn't waste any time.

"Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. We are here to discuss the custody and welfare of Zachary and Lainey Miller. It's noted here that the mother's rights have been terminated several months ago. I see here she turned herself in and was charged with child abandonment and has a hearing December 22nd. Today's court appointment is to decide whether or not to proceed forward with adoption by their foster parents correct?"

Both Lawyers replied "yes". Julie remained calm, sitting quietly as she rubbed her swollen belly. Rachel felt a twinge of jealousy at the sight. How could she just throw her two beautiful children away? And now will have a third child possibly born in prison.

"Mrs Kent, I can see here that your reports from the Hudson's home have been nothing short of stellar. The children are adjusting well, attending school and therapy regularly, and seem to be forming attachments to their foster parents. Are you recommending adoption at this point?"

Mrs. Kent stood up. "Yes your Honor, I am. The Hudson's would like to proceed with the adoption."

The judge flipped through a few more pages in the file. "Does the state have anything to add? All family members have been investigated? No one else in the family is available as I read here in the file. I see the birth mother is present, yet her rights were terminated. Will there be a challenge to this decision?"

Rachel began to tremble. Finn wrapped an arm around her to keep her still as she shook. She felt as through a giant sob was going to rip out of her body. She started picturing having to hand her two children back over to the state and the tears started to slowly fall.

The lawyer for the state, Mrs. Chamberlain, stood up. Julie stood up beside her and whispered into Mrs. Chamberlain's ear. Mrs. Chamberlain shook her head, then cleared her throat before she spoke.

"There's no contest to the adoption. All relatives have been contacted and no one is able to take the children at this time. Ms. Miller is incarcerated at the moment and is dealing with her mental health. She does have a proposition for the Hudson's if they'd be open to another child in the home. Ms. Miller is expecting another baby next month and has decided to give it up for adoption. She would like the baby to be raised with siblings if possible."

Rachel sat frozen in her seat. Finn called her name twice but she couldn't move. Finn nudged Rachel to break her out of her gaze. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Not only was there no contest, but Julie Miller wanted to give them her newborn baby. It felt like a dream.

"Is this really happening?" he whispered in Rachel's ear. "Are you hearing this Rachel?"

Rachel turned to look at him, stunned. She opened her mouth but nothing would come out.

Mrs. Kent spoke up. "Can my client's and I have a moment to discuss this before moving forward please? A possible ten minute recess?"

The judge nodded his head.

Mrs. Kent motioned for them to follow her out into the hallway. Finn practically dragged Rachel by the hand until they reached privacy outside of the doors.

"Is this really happening? Rachel, what do you think? Is she giving us her baby too?" Finn paced back and forth. He thought he had misinterpreted what just happened. He looked up at Rachel to see her standing alone, quietly crying. "Rachel, what's wrong? This is good right?"

"This is very good Mr. Hudson," Mrs. Kent chimed in. "Basically she isn't contesting the adoption. That will move forward. It appears to me that she only came today to ask you to take her baby too. I don't want to be rushed, but if a decision isn't made today, and she has that baby before you decide, chances are it will go to another foster family."

"We want it!" Rachel shouted out. "I...I can't even wrap my brain around what is happening, but of course we want Zack and Lainey to be a part of their siblings life. How could we say no?" She looked up at Finn to see him smiling back at her. "Right?"

Finn's smile grew even wider. "We can't say no. It never even crossed my mind." Finn walked over to Rachel, pulling her in for a giant hug as he kissed the top of her head. "We're going to have a baby Rach."

Rachel wiped the tears off of her cheeks as Mrs. Kent led them back into the court room. This time Julie watched them walk back in. Her face remained expressionless, but her eyes never left them.

Rachel wanted to walk over to Julie, to thank her, to ask her how she was. She was torn between hating Julie and wanting to hug her. However, she knew it wasn't appropriate in this setting. They can't communicate with her now and risk anything.

The judge asked Mrs. Kent if there had been a decision made. The Hudsons would still have to foster the baby until all of the appropriate measures had been taken. The adoption would not be instant. Rachel and Finn both nodded that they understood.

The baby was due in two weeks. Finn and Rachel would receive a phone call and the baby would be dropped off at their home by Mrs. Kent when he or she was discharged. .

Rachel didn't realize she was shaking until Finn grabbed ahold of her. "Rachel calm down. This is good ok?" Finn winked at her, but she still couldn't believe what was happening. She came today in fear of losing her two foster children, and is leaving with the knowledge she's getting third.

The Judge wrapped up some final statements, setting their next court date for March 30th. At that point they'd check in, report on the children, and hopefully set up an adoption date. Finn sighed at the thought of four more months of uncertainty. The stress they had experienced in the last 24 hours was enough to last a lifetime.

When everything ended, Julie Miller was escorted out of the courtroom, not stopping to look at Finn or Rachel.

"I really want to talk to her. I need to understand her a little. I also want to thank her." Rachel began to cry again, this time not being able to stop. "I'm so overwhelmed right now, but I just want to go home and hug our babies." Rachel was startled by the fact that Zack had asked her to speak to his mother. "Oh but Zack wanted me to tell his mom about soccer!" She whipped her head around the lobby to see if she could find their mother anywhere.

"I can ask if she'd be willing to speak to you at some point, if you'd like. She might not be willing but you never know." Mrs. Kent stated.

"Yes, I'd like that. The kids still need some closure out of all of this. I'd like to have some insight in case they ask questions when they're older."

Rachel and Finn walked out of the courtroom hand in hand, excited to return home to Zack and Lainey. Before getting in the car, they hugged for a long time, allowing themselves to finally relax.

* * *

It was after 5pm by the time they returned home. Carole had made Spaghetti and everyone was just sitting down to eat when they arrived.

"Oh perfect! Just in time for dinner!" Carole grabbed two more plates out of the cabinet and placed them at Finn and Rachel's seats. "How was everything?"

Lainey jumped up to give Finn and Rachel hugs, returning to her seat before getting in trouble. Zack didn't move from his spot, just looked at Rachel with questioning eyes.

Rachel and Finn ignored Carole's question. They weren't sure how much to say in front of the kids. "Were you guys good today for Burt and Carole?" Finn asked.

"Oh yes! We even got ice cream BEFORE our dinner! I got chocolate with sprinkles and Zack got vanilla with fudge on it." Lainey bounced up and down with excitement in her seat. "Then Carole let us help make dinner too!" Lainey clung to Carole's leg. Do you have to leave tomorrow?"

Carole smiled sweetly. "Yes we do sweetie. Before you know it, it will be Christmas and we will see you again. Maybe you can make a trip down before that too!"

Lainey pouted at her answer. "But I'll miss you." Lainey started to cry.

"Hey now, don't cry. We will see you again soon ok? Maybe you guys can come down for Rachel's birthday next month?" Burt looked at Finn and Rachel for an answer.

"Yeah that sounds great! We can try to plan that out." Finn felt Rachel kick him under the table. At first he had no idea why, but then it clicked. The baby.

Dinner involved the normal conversation, although Zack was quieter than usual. They didn't speak about what happend at the court appointment. Rachel could tell Carole and Burt were dying for some information, but they decided it was best to tell the kids about everything once they had let it sink in.

Finn offered to take the kids upstairs and prep them for bed while Rachel and Carole cleaned up. Once they were tucked in, Finn came downstairs to get Rachel. He walked into the kitchen to find Rachel putting the last dish away.

"Hey Rach, the kids want to say goodnight to you. They were a little upset that the routine was broken tonight."

Finn joined his parents in the living room as Rachel ran upstairs to say goodnight to the kids. She went into Lainey's room first. Lainey smiled as Rachel walked into the room and patted the bed to invite Rachel to sit.

"Goodnight Lainey. I love you." Rachel leaned down to kiss Lainey's forehead and brush the hair away from her face. "I'll see you in the morning okay?"

Lainey grabbed Rachel's hand to prevent her from getting up. "Can you lay with me for just a couple minutes? I missed you today."

Not wanting to deny her request, Rachel waited for Lainey to scoot over to make room for her on the pillow. "I missed you too, but I know you had fun with Burt and Carole right?"

Lainey nuzzled her head into Rachel's chest and wrapped an arm around her. "Did you see my mommy today? The one I used to live with?"

Rachel was shocked. "How did you know about that?"

Lainey remained in the same position, not looking Rachel in the eye. "You said it last night remember?. Did you see her?"

Rachel wanted Finn in here. They hadn't fully discussed how to tell the kids about any of this. She knew it would make it more stressful if she went to get him, so she trusted her instinct.

"Yes we saw her for a minute. We didn't get to talk to her though." She kissed Lainey's forehead as she remained still.

"Do you think she misses us? Was she sad?" Now Lainey moved back so she could see Rachel's face.

Rachel didn't want to lie. However, these kids had been through so much heartbreak. She had no idea how their mother felt, but she couldn't imagine her being so heartless as to not care at all. "Yes, she does miss you. She didn't seem sad though because she knows you are safe and happy here."

Lainey began to softly cry. Rachel just hugged her, knowing there was nothing she could do to take this pain away. The door to the bedroom opened and Zack walked in.

"I heard her crying. Is it about our mom? Did you see her?" Zack propped himself up onto the bed next to the two girls. "Does she want us back?"

Rachel began to panic. Does Zack want to go back with her? She knows he will always long for his mother, but wasn't he happy here?

"Well, Finn and I were going to talk to you about this together. I..." Rachel heard footsteps and knew it was Finn before he appeared in the doorway. He saw the group on the bed, accompanied by Lainey crying, and knew what was going on. He sat next to Zack before Rachel continued.

"Well, your mom did come today, but we weren't allowed to talk to her. The judge said you can stay with us and then we will have another meeting in a few months to get a date to adopt you. Mrs. Kent is going to come by a few times and see how we're doing and check our house out again, and she'll probably talk to you guys too."

The four of them sat on the bed in the dimly lit room, waiting for someone else to speak. There was no way they were telling them their mother was currently in jail.

"So that's it?" Zack asked. "She's never going to see us again?" He fought back tears, trying to blink them away, but they flowed down his cheeks furiously. "She doesn't want to see us? Ever?"

Rachel opened her mouth to speak, but what do you say to a little boy and girl who's hearts have been broken again?

Finn pulled Zack onto his lap. "Remember when we had the picnic on the floor? And we told you we were going to adopt you? Nothing has changed. We still love you. We know it hurts and you will probably always think about your mom and that's okay. We won't ever be mad at you for missing her or loving her. Just remember that."

"I like living here. I miss mommy, but I like my room, and my bed, and going to school and ballet. I don't want to leave here." Lainey clutched onto the blanket on her bed as if it might float away.

Zack stared at Lainey, almost not believing her words. "I like it here too Lainey, but mom..." he stopped and looked up at Rachel. "But mom is all alone now. You know how she doesn't like to be alone."

All of the training and counseling in the world never prepared them for moments like this. Moments where the past comes bubbling back up. Their little hearts broken over the smallest things. Their need to still be in charge of their mother even though they haven't seen her in months.

Rachel sighed as she started to speak. "Zack, you can't be worrying about your mom anymore. She has people to help her. I can't make her see you and I can't make you miss her less. What we can do is make sure you are safe and happy here. Finn and I love you and we will help you. We want us all to be a family. And by us being a new family, it doesn't mean you have to forget about your mom or never talk about it. Don't ever be afraid to say how you feel."

Rachel grabbed Zack's hand and he nodded. Then he did something that startled everyone. He reached over and wrapped his arms around Rachel's neck and hugged her. He rested his head on her shoulder, pausing for a minute before he pulled away. "Can you come tuck me back in when you're done with Lainey?" he asked Rachel.

"Sure thing buddy. Let me just tuck her back in and I'll be right over." Rachel laid Lainey back on her pillow, tucking her in before giving her a kiss goodnight. "Love you Lainey. See you in the morning."

"Love you mommy and daddy!" She shouted as they left the room.

Those words still caught Rachel by surprise. She and Finn cracked a small smile at each other as they entered Zack's room. He was already lying in bed with the covers pulled up to his chin. Finn said good night quickly and headed back downstairs to see his parents. Rachel sat on the edge of his bed, giving him a moment of silence before she spoke.

"Zack, I-"

"I'm sorry!" he blurted out as he cried. "I'm sorry I miss my mom. I am!"

"Oh Zack." Rachel wiped a tear of of his cheek as he closed his eyes tightly. "Don't be sorry okay. Your mom is still a part of your life even if you don't see her. Don't be upset. We will never be mad."

"Okay." Zack sniffled as he pulled the covers up even higher, almost covering his entire face.

"Get some rest and in the morning we can all cook a big breakfast before Burt and Carole leave. Sound good?"

Zack lowered the covers slightly to get some air. "Can we have bacon?"

"Sure thing! Now close your eyes and don't worry about anything. You're a great kid and we are so glad you're here."

Rachel blew a kiss to him before she closed the door behind her. She walked down the stairs to see Finn and his parents watching a football game. She was crying before she made it to the couch. Finn put his arm around her as she let it all out. She had held it together all evening, a huge range of emotion coursing through her veins.

Burt muted the TV as Rachel continued to cry.

"Oh what happened today? You didn't mention anything at dinner but you seemed okay. Are you losing them?" Carole began to tear up at the thought.

Rachel tried to pull herself together. She didn't want the kids hearing her cry upstairs.

Finn handed Rachel a tissue. "No mom. Court went quite well today actually. It's just a lot. These past few months have been so hard on everyone but also so rewarding. We have another meeting in May to move forward with adoption. They aren't leaving."

Burt and Carole both rushed over to the couch, giving hugs and kisses to them both.

"Well congratulations you two. We're thrilled!" Burt exclaimed.

"We just told them right now," Rachel began. "It's just still so sad. They both want to stay here but miss their mom so much. Zack is worried about her. It's a mess that we can't really fix. Just have to give them time I suppose."

"Did their mom say anything to you while there? Give any indication why she abandoned them?" Carole asked.

"No, we didn't get to talk to her at all. She only showed up because she wants to give us her baby. She's pregnant." Rachel looked up to gauge their reaction.

Carole gasped and Burt's mouth fell open. Rachel burst into tears again.

"Yeah, we were shocked too. Of course we said yes. I mean how can we not take in this baby?" Finn rubbed Rachel's back to try to calm her down. He hadn't seen her cry like this in a long time. "Rachel and I were caught so off guard, but we didn't hesitate. We won't be telling the kids until the baby is home though. There are so many unknowns. If she changes her mind we have no rights."

Rachel blew her nose and took a deep breath to try to compose herself, but the tears kept coming.

"Rach, what's wrong? Why are you so upset?" Finn was concerned, wondering what had happened that he missed. He wasn't sad at all, just nervous.

Rachel's body was now trembling. "I'm just so scared. We're so close. So close to this being a forever thing. And now a baby? I mean, we are the luckiest people on the planet. I am just terrified that it will all be gone at the drop of a hat. Nothing is final until we sign those adoption papers, and that is still months away, possibly even a year. You know nothing is rushed in foster care."

Finn felt the same, but was trying so hard to be strong for Rachel. He hadn't told her, but he had been up many nights lately worrying about the kids. They were all in such a good place, and even the difficult nights like tonight were able to be handled. Their lives had gone from revolving around their business, to revolving around getting pregnant, to revolving around these two kids that have taught them so much about life and love. They're so invested at this point, they might not recover if it doesn't work out.

Exhuasted from the day's events, everyone headed to bed earlier than normal. Tomorrow they needed to get back into a routine and carry on with their lives. They had a baby coming, so much preparing to do, and home visits on top of it. Finn and Rachel needed to spend the day prepping their room for a newborn and making sure they had everything in place.

Rachel awoke in the night to the sound of whimpering from Lainey's room. The clock read 2 am, so it wasn't close to wake up time. She rushed to Lainey's side to find her sitting up in bed, crying alone.

"Sweetheart what's wrong? Did you have a bad dream?" Rachel wasn't sure if Lainey was fully awake or not. She just kept staring forward and crying.

"Mommy don't leave me!" she cried and lunged for Rachel's lap.

"Oh honey, I'm so sorry your mommy left. Did you dream about it? You can tell me."

"No, not my old mommy. I'm talking about you lady. In my dream, you took me to the park and left me there and never came back. I cried for you but you just walked away." Lainey clung to Rachel's arms and curled herself into a ball as she cried harder.

Rachel's heart sank. Part of her was happy that Lainey was still calling her mommy. On the other hand, the deep wound left by her mother was still there.

Rachel kissed the top of Lainey's head as her sobs continued. "Lainey, I will never leave you. Ever. Even when you're a big girl I'll always be there ok? It was just a bad dream and it won't come true."

"I love you mommy. Can you lay with me until I fall asleep again? I'm scared." Lainey crawled back onto her pillow and pulled the covers up for Rachel.

"Sure, scoot over and make room." Rachel meant every word she had said. She just hoped they would remain true.

—

 **Thanks for reading! Please review! I hope everyone enjoyed!**


	13. Chapter 13

**I'm back! I promise I'm finishing this I've just been busy! I don't own glee just the plot and original characters!**

* * *

December:

Rachel folded last blanket from the laundry and placed it in the bassinet beside her bed. The bassinet had been stored in the basement for years, waiting for a time when they would be able to use it. She let her finger tips drag across the delicate white fabric that lined the bed, imagining a baby sleeping in it like she had so many times before. This is the closest its ever been to becoming a reality.

They had spent the majority of the last week decorating the house for Christmas. Rachel and Finn both tried to distract themselves as much as possible. They've learned by now that the foster care system isn't a reliable place, and that this baby wasn't a guarantee. All they could do was wait.

The kids were thrilled to decorate the tree and set up the lights outside. They'd been living in a hotel for who knows how long and there were definitely no Christmas decorations involved. Finn blasted Christmas music while they made the house as festive as possible.

Afterwards they drank hot cocoa and set up a fire in the fireplace. It was during those times that things felt the most normal. These times were the ones where they all forgot about how the kids ended up here, that their past wasn't something to haunt them. The kids smiled and laughed without a care in the world.

Ten days had passed since their court date and still no call about the baby. The kids behavior had spiked again after news of their mom not wanting to see them at the court appearance. Once again, the roller coaster of foster care was taking its toll. Zack got in trouble for pushing a kid on the playground last week and had been protesting going to after school tutoring. This morning he had screamed at Rachel for making him stay after today instead of picking him up on time. He told her he hated her and he hated school. He refused to say goodbye at drop off.

Zack and Lainey had also noticed the presence of baby items in the house now. Rachel and Finn still had to meet protocol and Mrs. Kent was stopping by within the next few days to do a house check. As far as the kids new, a baby might need a home and need to stay with them. Nothing further was mentioned. If it all panned out, they would sit the kids down and tell them the truth. They both had decided there was no need to rock the boat further with the information that their mom was indeed pregnant.

Finn was picking up Lainey from preschool today because he had an appointment nearby. Rachel didn't have to leave for another hour to get Zack from tutoring, so she decided to throw a load of laundry in. A snow storm was moving in and she wanted to get a lot done in case they lost power and couldn't wash for a few days. Rachel shuddered at the thought of the kids stuck inside without school for a day or two. They had been testing them so much lately, it would be difficult to keep them busy and happy. She loved them dearly, but also know they thrived off of the structure school provided for them.

A half hour later Rachel heard her cell ringing in the kitchen. Finn's name flashed across the screen so she picked up right away.

"Hi honey, did you get Lainey okay?" She could hear Lainey in the background the second she asked.

"Yes she's with me. I think you should allow yourself extra time to get Zack. I'd head there now but the roads are already bad."

Rachel glanced out the window to see the snow already falling and building up on the ground. "Thanks for the heads up Finn. I'll leave now and we will see you in a bit."

Rachel wasn't too worried. She still had thirty minutes to make a 15 minute drive to school. She'd lived in Ohio her entire life, and snow wasn't foreign to anyone. What she hadn't anticipated was the two accidents on the route to school on top of the snow.

Zack sat on a bench with the handful of other tutoring students next to the front office of the school. He hated that he had tutoring after school. He had screamed at Rachel and said some pretty mean things this morning. He knows he should have said he was sorry, but he was stubborn and left the car this morning without saying goodbye.

Zack let his feet dangle below him, hitting the backpack that was set between his legs on the floor. He heard the front door to the school open and hoped it was Rachel. He just wanted to go home.

He saw a older man with red hair walk in, and a girl seated next to him on a bench got up and ran to him. They hugged for a minute and then held hands as they walked out the door. Zack wondered what his dad was like. He'd never met him before. Was he tall like Finn? or shorter like the P.E. teacher Mr. Marshall? Did he look like his dad? His mom always told him that his dad wasn't a nice man and that's why he wasn't around. Maybe she lied.

The two boys that were left got picked up by the same woman, which left Zack sitting with the secretary of the school in a quiet lobby. Rachel had told him she would be here to pick him up. She knows he had tutoring and she needed to get him at 4. He remembers her saying that this morning when he was yelling.

"Sweetie," the secretary said to him, "who was supposed to pick you up today? Do you think there was a mix up?"

Zack hesitated for a minute, reliving the moments from this morning over in his head. "Um, my mom. I mean my foster mom. Rachel Hudson. She's coming to get me. Can you call her?"

"Sure hon, I'm sure she's on her way though. Maybe its the snow making her late."

* * *

Zack sat back down on the bench as he waited for the phone call to be made. He put on his hat and gloves, to be sure he'd be ready to go. He knows Rachel wants him to always be warm. She always makes him put a hat and gloves on before he leaves the house.

"She's not answering. Do you want me to call your dad?" she asked.

"Yeah. Finn. His name is Finn." He watched her pick up the phone again to dial the new number. Someone picked up because he heard her talking.

"Well he said she's definitely on her way but the roads are bad so she probably got stuck in traffic."

Zack grew worried upon hearing those words. What if she got in an accident? She's not answering her phone and she always answers no matter what. He felt his heart begin to race as he continued to stare at the front door of the school. Fear soon took over and he began to softly cry. He was so mean to her this morning and what if she's hurt and mad at him? What if she told Mrs. Kent they didn't want him anymore?

"Honey don't cry," the secretary said, "I'm sure she'll be here soon." She came over and sat next to him on the bench. She wrapped an arm around him, but he moved away.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, Zack staring at the ground in front of him. "What happens if she never comes?" he asked.

"Well let's give her a few more minutes and then I'll call your dad back to see if he can come before the weather gets worse ok?"

Zack nodded as he adjusted his hat on his head. "Are you going to call the police? To look for her? Will they have to take me away?"

The secretary was confused. "No, they won't take you away. Your dad can come and get you. And I don't think we need to call them just yet ok?"

Just then the door to the school flew open and Rachel came running through the door.

"MOM!" he shouted as he ran to her.

Rachel saw the sadness on his face as he shouted to her. He had called her mom. She rushed towards him trying to keep her composure. "Zack why are you crying? Is everything okay? I'm so sorry I'm late!" She bent down to his level and hugged him tightly.

"I thought you weren't going to come," he said as he sniffled. "Or that you were hurt. You didn't answer your phone."

Rachel's stomach sank as she realized her phone had been on silent in her purse the entire ride.

"I'm here now. There were accidents and people were driving slow because of the snow. I see you have your hat and gloves on, so let's grab your back pack and go." Rachel turned to the secretary. "I apologize for taking so long to get here. Do I need to sign him out?"

"Don't worry Mrs. Hudson. Things happen. Just glad you made it. Drive home safely and there's no need to sign him out." The secretary retreated back behind her desk.

Rachel picked up Zack's backpack and threw it over her shoulder and grabbed his hand as they headed out the door. "Hold on tight, its getting slippery."

* * *

Once in the car, they began their slow ride home. "You okay back there?" she asked. Zack hadn't spoken a word since they began to drive.

"I didn't mean to call you mom before," Zack blurted out, breaking the silence between them.

She felt like she had been slapped. "Okay." Rachel replied trying to hide her emotions. She didn't want to bring it up or push him about it. She had learned that he talks when he's ready. The problem is she isn't ready for what he has to say.

"It just slipped out I guess. I know Lainey calls you mom and Finn dad but I don't want to. You can't make me" He glanced at Rachel's eyes in the rear view mirror.

Rachel knew he was testing her, seeing if she was upset. "You know, if you want to call me mom you can. It doesn't mean you love your mom any less. I have two dads and call them both dad and I love them both the same." She paused to see if he would answer. "But if you just want to call me Rachel that's cool too. I'll love you no matter what you call me. Finn will too."

Zack looked out the window and didn't reply. He remained silent the remainder of the drive.

Once home Zack stormed off upstairs, throwing his backpack by the front door before running off. Rachel shuffled inside behind him, leaving her wet boots on the mat.

"Mommy!" Lainey screamed as she ran to Rachel. "Mommy you took so long coming home!"

Finn poked his head out of the kitchen to make sure everything was okay. "You okay? Where's Zack?"

Rachel hugged Lainey and walked toward the kitchen to give Finn a kiss. "He's upstairs. He was pretty upset when I showed up. Long story."

"Well lucky for you we are going to be snowed in. I've got time." Finn sent Lainey up to her room to play for a while so they could talk and get dinner ready.

Rachel sat at the table, leaned back, and sighed. "He called me mom when I got to school. Apparently he thought I wasn't coming or something bad had happened to me. When I showed up he was panicked."

Finn sat down besides her, scooting his chair closer. "So when he called you mom what happened? Did he freak out?"

Rachel brought her hands up to her temples, slowly massaging the sides of her head. "Well no, not at first. He was so thankful to see me that he didn't realize it right away. Then on the way home he told me he didn't mean it." Rachel felt herself tearing up and tried to fight it. "He feels guilty. No matter how horrible his mother was to them, he still loves her. It scares him to think that he might love me too."

Finn stared back at Rachel in awe of how she was handling this. She was upset and stressed, but she was okay and only thinking of Zack's feelings.

A loud bang followed by Lainey's screams alerted the two to run upstairs.

"Zack stop it! I'm not leaving!" she cried as Rachel and Finn saw Zack dragging her by the arm across the hallway.

"Hey! Let her go Zack!" Finn shouted grabbing Zack's arm to free Lainey.

Lainey ran into Rachel's arms still screaming. "Zack said we have to leave but I'm not going!" She rubbed her eyes to clear them from her tears.

Zack ran back into his room, trying to slam the door but Finn intervened. "Go away!" he screamed in Finn's face. "You never leave me alone! I'm gong to find my mom and I'm never coming back!" Zack opened his closet doors and rummaged through the contents on the floor before coming out with a bag.

"Lainey why don't you go watch TV in my room while we talk to Zack ok?" Rachel placed her on the ground and turned her out the door. Lainey scurried across the hall, slamming her parents bedroom door behind her.

"Zack, you know you can't leave. What's going on?" Finn moved towards Zack who continued to throw the contents of his dresser in his bag. He reached out and touched Zack's shoulder which made him jump.

"Don't touch me! Just leave me alone! Call Mrs. Kent and tell her I want to leave. I know you want to! I hate you. Both of you." Zack stared back at them to see what their reaction would be. His nostrils flared as he tried to catch his breath. He was trying to make them upset, to make them hurt.

"Zack, we know you don't hate us. Tell us why you're upset. I know you don't want to leave Lainey either. Let's just sit down and talk it out." Rachel sat on the bed next to where Zack was standing, his body tensing up at her presence.

"STOP RACH-EL" he shouted, emphasizing the syllables in her name. "Why do you have to be better than her? And nicer? Why! Just stop being so NICE!"

Finn stood in the doorway to prevent Zack from running out. Rachel sat next to Zack silent, unsure of what to answer. "Zack I-"

Zack took a deep breathe before he continued. "You make me want to hate her and I don't want to. I don't want to hate my mom. Sometimes she was nice ok? She would watch movies with us and give us ice cream. You only know the bad stuff." He started pacing the room, not making eye contact with anyone.

"Sweetie no one said you have to hate your mom." Rachel patted the bed next to her for Zack to sit but he refused.

"I didn't know she was a bad mom," he said as the tears started to fall, his pacing coming to a halt. "I thought everyone's mom was like mine. I didn't know moms hug you all the time and make sure you put your jacket on to stay warm. I didn't know moms always made sure you had food to eat and didn't leave you alone by yourself." He looked over at Rachel who sat calmly, waiting for him to finish. "I'm just so mad!"

Zack screamed at the top of his lungs until he no longer had any air to release. Rachel reached out to grab him and this time he didn't resist. She pulled him into her lap as he sobbed. "I'm sorry I'm bad. Is that why my mom doesn't want me?" he cried.

Rachel rubbed his forehead as he lay in her lap. "You're not bad honey. I don't really know why your mom isn't around. I wish I knew but I don't. Sometimes moms and dads can't take care of their kids anymore so they go live with someone else. " Rachel looked across the room to Finn for guidance, but he shrugged his shoulders unsure of what to do.

"I didn't mean it when I said I hated you. I don't hate you. I just feel bad because you would never do the stuff my mom used to do but I love her. You keep me safe and she didn't. You would never do those things" He nuzzled further into Rachel's lap like he wanted to disappear. She rubbed circles on his back, noticing his body starting to relax.

"Hey buddy," Finn started as he bent down in front of Zack's face, "its okay to love anyone you want ok? You can still love your mom and be mad at her. Sometimes people don't make the best decisions. That's not your fault. We love you even if you make a bad choice or you're mad at us." Finn sat on the bed next to them, lifting Zack's feet onto his lap. "You have to tell us when you're feeling like this. You can't keep it all bottled up inside."

Zack closed his eyes tighter, not wanting to look at their faces.

"Zack," Rachel said softly, "You have to talk to us. Don't be afraid. You can't just scream at us when you're mad. We want to help you. We can't help you if you don't let us."

Zack stayed silent for a few minutes. Finn and Rachel waited patiently, knowing he usually starts talking if you give him some time.

"Do you think I'll ever see my mom again? Like ever? Can I write her a letter?" Zack rubbed his wet eyes as he turned on his back.

"We can certainly ask Mrs. Kent. She'll let us know if that's allowed. Sound good?" Rachel rubbed his hair out of his eyes.

"Yeah that sounds good."

* * *

The storm causes the power to go out around midnight. Rachel and Finn had no idea until around 3 am. Rachel heard Lainey's light footsteps on the hardwood floor before she started to speak.

"Mommy" Lainey said as she shook Rachel's arm. "Mommy I'm cold."

Rachel opened her eyes to reveal Lainey's shadowy figure standing next to the bed. She's holding her pillow and extra blanket waiting for Rachel's reply. Rachel sees her alarm clock blinking and realized the power is out.

"Climb on in honey. Put your pillow in between Finn and I ok?"

Lainey climbed up onto the king sized bed, placing her pillow next to Rachel's. Finn opened his eyes slightly, seeing Lainey jump in.

"Mommy is Daddy going to squish me if I sleep here?"

Rachel giggled softly. "No he won't."

Finn, half asleep, scooted his body over to accommodate Lainey. This wasn't an uncommon thing, and he thanked god for their king size bed when this happened.

Lainey snuggled up closer to Rachel, placing her feet on Rachel's sweat pant covered legs.

"Lainey do you have socks on? Your feet are freezing!"

"No," she whispered. "I forgot."

Rachel climbed out of bed, the cold air zipping through her clothing. She headed to Zack's room before grabbing Lainey some socks. Zack was bundled up, every inch of his body covered with his comforter except for the top of his head. He seemed warm so she left him alone. His exhaustion from the previous day should keep him asleep for a while.

She returned to the room with socks in hand, Lainey already back asleep. She placed the socks on her feet and covered her back up. Rachel slid back under the covers, curling her body up into a ball to try to warm back up.

"Rachel" she heard from the dark doorway. Zack walked over to her side of the bed. "I'm freezing."

"Want to climb in? Your sisters already asleep next to Finn. You can sleep next to me on the edge so she won't kick you if you'd like," she whispered as moved her body closer to Lainey. Zack didn't reply, just slid into the bed next to her. She smiled as he grabbed her hand as he fell asleep.

The power was restored by morning, which meant that the kids were up early and ready for a day in the snow. They had eaten breakfast and were fully dressed in their snow gear by 8 am. Finn volunteered to take them out first, knowing it was very cold and they wouldn't last long. Rachel remained inside finishing up the last remaining preparations for the baby. They had planned to go to Lima this weekend for her birthday on Saturday if they hadn't heard anything by today.

She looked out the back window towards the deck where Finn and Zack were building a snow ramp to sled down. Lainey was off to the side trying her hardest to build a small snowman. She grabbed her phone and took a quick video, none of them aware of what was going on. Rachel loved how pure these moments were. How it was such a normal thing for most families, but something so special for them.

The roads are clear by noon so Rachel asks the kids if they'd like to go to the mall and visit Santa Claus. They both look back at her with blank stares.

"Santa isn't real Rachel," Zack says. "My mom told us that's why we never got any presents for Christmas."

Once again they are both shocked at this news, even though they shouldn't be surprised.

"What about you Lainey?" Finn asks. "Do you believe in Santa?"

Lainey shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know."

Finn is crushed because he loves Christmas and had always wanted to share his love of the holiday with his family, Santa included.

"Well Santa will bring gifts to those who believe. If not, I'm sure Rachel and I have some special gifts for two special kids coming Christmas day too..." Finn winked at Rachel who smiled in return.

Both kids smiled back, beaming from ear to ear. "Really?" Zack asked.

"I'm pretty sure you two have been very good this year. We might have a thing or two for you. Would you like to see Santa anyways? You never know how it will be. You don't have to sit on his lap or anything if you don't want to okay? It's just something fun to do. Finn would still sit on Santa's lap if he could fit." Rachel smirked back at him.

Lainey exploded with laughter. "Daddy! You are too big to sit on Santa's lap! And he only brings presents to kids!"

"Not true. Santa puts special presents in my stocking every single year. I believe in the magic so he still delivers!" Finn looked at Zack to see if he was buying any of this. Zack just raised his eyebrows in question.

"Okay we can go. We've never been so it might be fun." Zack ran upstairs quickly followed by Lainey to change.

"So what are we getting them for Christmas? We've been so distracted that we're behind. I've grabbed a few things but nothing big. I was thinking Bikes?" Rachel whispered making sure the kids couldn't hear her.

"Perfect. I guess we can see what they ask Santa for too. This will be their first real Christmas if you think about it. I don't know what they've done in years past, but based on their mom's history it probably wasn't much. I don't want it to be over the top though."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Who are you kidding Finn! You're the king of over the top at Christmas. Do you remember the gingerbread house contest at the office last year? You spent six hours decorating yours!"

"Okay okay. I kind of do want Christmas to blow their socks off. I guess the basics will probably take care of that anyways."

* * *

The mall is crowded since school was cancelled for the snow and since the roads were clear everyone had the same idea. The line to see Santa was long, so Rachel volunteered to stand in line while Finn walked them around. 45 minutes later they returned and Rachel was almost at the front.

"We went to the pet store!" Lainey shouted as she jumped up and down in front of Rachel. "Daddy let me hold a puppy and he was SO CUTE! "

Rachel looked up and eyed Finn. "He did? Well that was nice of him!" She hoped this wasn't a way of telling her that he wanted a dog. They had enough going on. Plus, Rachel wasn't a huge animal lover.

"Yeah," Zack smiled, "it was a small white fluffy dog. You would love him."

"Well I think we are busy enough right now. Maybe we can get a dog another time." Both kids pouted at Rachel's response.

The line moved up and the kids began to stand on the tip toes to see if they could catch a glance of Santa.

"Daddy can you hold me up so I can see?" Lainey held her hands up in the air towards Finn as he picked her up. "He looks nice!"

Zack leaned against Rachel as he continued to wait. Rachel rubbed his arm and smiled at Lainey as she stared at Santa in awe.

"You don't have to sit on Santa's lap or talk to him if you don't want to. Your sister will though so just think about it. We only have a few more kids in front of us." Rachel knew Zack probably didn't believe. He had a lot of his childhood taken from him and she wasn't sure if he was buying any of this.

"I don't really see the point. Santa never came to our house before so it's not worth it." He hung his head in shame, knowing full well his mom was the one who couldn't pull Christmas off.

"I'm sorry Zack. You're right its no fun seeing Santa if he's not coming, but I know Santa visits our house every year so you might want to give it a shot." She winked at him when he looked up at her. He giggled in return.

When it was their turn, Zack walked right up to Santa and plopped down on his lap. Lainey was a little hesitant, clinging to Finn's arm a little bit before letting go. She climbed up on Santa's lap, forcing Zack to scoot over. Finn and Rachel backed up, snapping a picture before moving to the side.

Santa asked their names and they quietly replied. He asked if they had been good. Lainey answered 'yes' while Zack replied 'sort of'. Santa told them to try hard to be extra good for their mom and dad. At that comment they both looked up at Finn and Rachel and smiled. Then the big question came: What did they want for Christmas.

Lainey started chatting away first. "Well I would like an American Girl doll that looks like me, and a pink lollipop that is as big as my face."

Zack began to speak quietly. "I don't know what I really want. Could I maybe see my mom? It's like a wish not a present." Santa glanced up at Rachel. "No not that mom, my other mom. She's just my foster mom." Ouch. Rachel tried not to react upon hearing his words, knowing his little heart still ached for his mom.

"Well I'll see what I can do young man. Now you two have a Merry Christmas okay?" The kids said goodbye and skipped off, Zack less enthusiastic than Lainey. At least no one had cried, Rachel thought to herself.

* * *

Later that night, Zack and Lainey had gone up to Zack's room after dinner to work on a special project. Rachel figured it was for her birthday, and Finn kept popping in and out of the room to check on them. She wasn't allowed in.

Every time she walked down the hall she would hear a collective "SHHHHH" from behind the door that made her laugh.

Finn sat on the floor in between the two children, crayons and markers scattered the floor. The kids had wanted to make Rachel birthday cards to give her on Saturday, along with the gifts they had picked out. He'd also let them pick out some gifts at the mall while they walked around. They ran them out to the car before they met Rachel back in line for Santa. He was shocked neither of them had told her yet.

"I hope mommy likes my card AND my hat I picked out for her. She loves pink like me so I know she'll like it." Lainey carefully colored in the flowers she had drawn on the front of the card. She had picked out a hot pink beanie for Rachel and Finn loved that she chose it herself.

"I'm sure she will Lainey. How's your card coming along Zack? We have to finish up before bed so I can hide it with her gifts."

Zack glanced down at his card. It simply read "Happy Birthday Rachel" on the front in green crayon. "Yeah, I just don't know what to write inside."

"You'll think of something. Now hurry up and finish before Rachel gets suspicious." Finn laughed softly and the kids smiled.

Zack had picked out a thin gold bracelet with a tiny heart dangling from it. Finn had been surprised that he had picked out something so thoughtful. He watched as Zack wrote "love Zack" on the inside of the card before he handed it over.

"That's all you want to say?" Finn asked. Zack nodded and started to clean up the mess on the floor.

With the kids in bed, Rachel began to finish packing her bag for the weekend. The kids were packed and Finn always packs at the last minute, so she figured she could get hers out of the way before Finn would need her help.

Sure enough ten minutes later Finn shuffles into the bedroom and greets her with a loud yawn. "Both kids are out and covered," he said as he stretched his arms above his head. "I'll pack in the morning before we leave. I can't believe you're letting the kids skip school the day after a snow day."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "They love it down in Lima, and it might be the last chance we have for a while. If this baby actually ends up panning out, we'll be trapped in the house until Winter is over. I am not traveling down there with two kids and a newborn for Christmas."

Finn walked over to her, rubbing her back as she finished up. "That's true. They do love seeing everyone. I just can't imagine having a newborn in the house after having Zack and Lainey. We're finally used to them and their quirks, but we didn't have them as babies. Babies are...hard."

Rachel zipped up her bag as she laughed. "Zack ran down the street and we had to catch him the first day he was here. At least we can guarantee the baby won't run away."

Finn sat on the bed, thinking about how much their life had changed. Last year on Rachel's birthday they were gearing up for another round of fertility treatments. This year they have two kids and possibly another on the way. They'd gone from zero to sixty in the blink of an eye. He never regretted any of it. It had been the hardest six months of his life, but also the most rewarding.

* * *

Rachel hadn't slept well. She had tossed and turned most of the night, thinking about the baby. She'd almost wished they'd never known about it until the baby had arrived. There was too much time to worry and wait. What if Julie changed her mind? What if she changed her mind about everything? Plus her birthday trip this weekend, and then add in Christmas...she was feeling overwhelmed.

With no signs of life in the house, she decided to shower and get a head start. Once the kids were up she knew they'd want to leave for Lima immediately. She figured there was some sort of little party in the works for her birthday tomorrow since Lainey had asked her at least ten times what her favorite kind of cake was yesterday.

She took her time in the shower, letting the hot water soak into her skin. The excitement of this weekend home and Christmas approaching has her mind racing. The kids will have so many firsts over the next few weeks. She imagined the two of them running down the stairs Christmas morning and was giddy. So imagined that this is how Finn feels all of the time about Christmas.

She turned the shower off and put on her robe before emerging back into the bedroom. Finn is still asleep, his arm thrown over his face and a light snore coming from his mouth. It was barely 7 am. The loud ringing from her cell phone broke the silence in the room causing her to jump and Finn to shoot straight up in bed.

Rachel grabbed the phone and scrambled to hit the answer button. "Hello?" she said softly trying not to wake the kids.

"Hello Rachel, this is Mrs. Kent calling. Just wanted to let you know that Julie Miller went into labor last night at 2 am. The baby should be here today!"

Rachel began to shake and sat down on Finn's side the bed. Finn tried to orient himself and tried to figure out what was going on.

"Oh my gosh! Wow! So what do we do now? Just wait for another call? How does this work?" Rachel tried to keep her hands from shaking and needed both of them to hold her phone up to her ear.

"Well actually, Ms. Miller has requested that you and your husband come to the hospital if you'd like. She's handing the baby over immediately. This could change, but if you'd like to you're welcome to come up here."

Finn's eyes grew wide as he heard Mrs. Kent's words through the phone. He jumped up to grab his phone to start calling someone to watch the kids.

"Of course we will come! Let us get a sitter for the kids and we will be right up." Rachel hung up and threw herself into Finn's arms, knocking his cell phone out of his hand.

Finn hugged her tightly, her wet hair soaking his shirt. "Rachel, today's the day. I guess you're getting a baby for your birthday instead of the pink cake Lainey had planned."

Her birthday. The trip to Lima would have to be postponed. "The kids are going to be so upset. Let's call my dad's and get them to drive up right now and stay with the kids. We can drop them off at school and head out. I don't want to miss it!"

From this point on things were hectic. Finn jumped in the shower while Rachel coordinated her dads driving up to watch the kids. Then she called Carole to cancel the weekend and arrange for them to drive up tomorrow instead. Lainey and Zack both threw fits when they found out the trip had been cancelled. They didn't want to tell the kids why, so they just said that Burt wasn't feeling well and the party could be moved to their own house instead.

"Burt would want to see us even if he's sick!" Zack yelled. "It's not fair!"

Finn knew this wasn't going to go well. "Zack, things happen. You can be mad, but we aren't going. Now go get your backpack and get in the car."

They both were in bad moods when Finn gathered them up to get in the car for school. Finn dropped the kids at school which also wasn't a great experience but he successfully got them off and when he returned Rachel was ready to go. He honked his horn to let Rachel know he was back.

She stood at the door with the car seat in her hand and a diaper bag in the other. It was a moment she had envisioned so many times, but never actually thought it would come true. She always imagined her going into labor and Finn being scattered as they got ready to leave the house. This of course, is different, but the end result will hopefully be the same.

Finn helped her clip the carseat into the car and they both settled into their respective seats.

"You ready to go get our third child?" he asked as he laughed.

"More than anything."

* * *

Thank you for your patience! Please review! It helps to know people are still reading!


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